Square Talk in Leabank Square!

A massive thanks to Simon - the Editor of Square Talk - for the first edition of Square Talk!

As you all know - Simon is the PR Guru for Leabank Square - making sure that we are always seen in the best light possible. Any journos wanting to do the dirty on expenses - Simon will see them off. Any great stories coming out of the Square - Simon will tell the press. Any events, festivals & barbies coming up - Simon will tell us all about it!

In the past few weeks he has been feverishly beavering away on a rusty old typewriter up in the garret tower of his home here in Leabank Square, much the same as Charles Dickens did not too far away from here a few hundred years ago. The result has just landed on your doormat!

Enjoy!

Olympic Trees Return!!

June 2009

Congratulations Leabank Square!!

Due to all your campaigning - the Olympic Delivery Authority have brought some trees back to Arena Fields!!

Okay - so they still chopped our entire orchard down and stole Arena Fields away from London - but at least they have started bringing a tiny bit of green back to this corner of the Olympic Park.

The trees are the result of us begging them to cover the grey, drab, boring portakabins they have dropped opposite Leabank Square for the next 4 years. Thankfully they have listened to you - and it is beginning to look a whole heap better!

The psychological well being of all Leabank Square residents is starting to improve with these trees. Thank you Olympic gardeners!!

September 2008

July 2008

Olympic Road Sweeper for Leabank Square!

By now we must have all seen the brilliant Olympic Road Sweeper swinging by Leabank Square once a week!

This is thanks to Carrillion, Gemma & Dave from the Olympic External Relations Team!!

They knew we were having a tricky time with the dust coming over the canal, and although they can't stop the wind from blowing it over us, they can sweep up most of it around the square!

Even if you haven't actually seen this lovely machine, you definitely would have seen the amazing results of its work!

We will see the machine here in Leabank Square every Wednesday - sometime between 9am and midday.

It would be lovely if we could occasionally organise to have all the cars parked on one side of the car-park one week - and then the opposite side the following week. But let's just enjoy the cleanliness of the square for now shall we?

Next time you see the guys sweeping the Square - please give them a big thumbs-up & a smile!

Leabank Square Big Lunch!!

As part of the National Big Lunch day on the 19 July - Leabank Square will be having a big lunch on the Leabank Square Green!

Everyone is invited!!

There will be a long row of chairs & tables on the paving in the middle - and all you have to do is bring your Sunday lunch out on your own plates, with your own cutlery & drinks - and have lunch with the rest of your neighbours!!!

Simple as that!

What better way of eating, drinking and making merry could there possibly be? You already know you'll be in great company, you already know what delicious food you cook, you already know what your best jokes are - all you don't know is how wonderful it will be to have lunch with all of Leabank Square!

See you there!

To see more on the Big Lunch go to: http://blog.edenproject.com/scrapbook/2009/03/were-inviting-you-to-big-lunch.html

Leabank Square Spring Clean!

Everybody is invited to the annual Leabank Square Spring Clean on Sunday 12 July!

Please could you spend just a few hours helping the rest of your neighbours giving Leabank Square a thorough seeing to.

We will have a few brooms, grabbers, spades, rakes, and bin liners, but whatever you can also bring along would really be appreciated!

Basically - we would like to get into the corners of Leabank Square that haven't been tidied for a while - and make it look a whole lot better!!

If everyone swept up & cleaned up around their front doors, and then spent another hour walking around helping the rest of us clean up the communal areas - Leabank Square will look so great!

We are also very lucky to have the Wick Curiosity Shop (http://www.wickcuriosityshop.net/about/) with us for the day as well! For those of you who have not yet had the pleasure of perusing it's wares - you're in for a massive treat! You will be amazed at all things Hackney Wick!

There will be teas, coffees, orange squash & biscuits for everyone as well.

Please put the date in your diary - and meet some new neighbours while sprucing our lovely Square up at the same time!!

London Assembly Member Jennette Arnold visits Leabank Square!!

The closest Leabank Square has ever had to royalty visiting us was last week when the Deputy Chair of the London Assembly spent the afternoon with us!

Not only that - but we are going to be eating her delicious tomatoes in a few short weeks time. That's right folks - this member of the London Assembly got down & dirty on her knees while planting tomatoes on the green! Now where would you ever catch Boris doing the same?!

As you all know - Jennette has been so very supportive in our struggle for a less noisy & dusty Leabank Square since the Olympics became our neighbour, and she was still actively campaigning right here on Leabank Square.

In front of us, she reminded some Olympic suits of the need to be better neighbours, and invited us to send her regular updates about just what we are having to endure.

Thanks a whole heap for spending an afternoon out of your hectic schedule to come & listen to us down here in Leabank Square! And congratulations of your OBE a few days later as well!!

You're welcome to come & visit anytime!

For more info on the lovely Jennette see: http://www.london.gov.uk/assembly/members/arnoldj.jsp

To see her blog video of the visit - see: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/video/video.php?v=1163665740598&ref=mf

Tools, Tools, Tools!!!

WOW!!!!

Look at all the amazing gardening tools that the (sustainability dept) of the ODA very kindly donated to Leabank Square!!!

We will be eternally grateful for this incredible gift! It means such a lot to the Leabank Square Gardening Club that we now have new, safe & quality tools for us to make Leabank Square even more attractive!

And thanks to Tracie - we now have a lovely shed to lock them all safely away in! I'm sure you are all aware of the theft (by so-called 'metal merchants') of our last lot of tools from inside the cupboard. The shed will definitely be much safer!!

Thank you so very much for these amazing tools - especially to Carrillion, Mariana & Stef for organising them. We will use them with gratitude for many years after the Olympics have move on!

Thank You to Mayor Jules Pipe

A massive thank you to Mayor Jules Pipe for very kindly donating a dust cart to Leabank Square!!

We have given it many test runs all around the square - and I am sure you agree that the whole square is looking so much better already!

Now........

You know what's coming next don't you?

We need as many Leabank Square Dust-Cart driver as possible to volunteer their services. Getting a licence is very easy - just spend a couple of minutes with Sóna - & he'll show you just how easy it actually is to drive it around, stopping off at pieces of litter, enjoying a scenic stroll around the furthest corners of the Square you might not have been to before, seeing the sights, meeting new neighbours, beautifying Leabank Square as you go along!

Thanks to Mayor Pipe - the Leabank Square Dust-Cart has all the accessories you will ever need - brooms, grabbers, pic-up spades, gloves, bags - all it doesn't have is an ice cream freezer section!

Thank you so very much Mayor Pipe - Leabank Square will make you very proud of this tiny corner of Hackney!

Ted - Hero of Leabank Square!!

Not only is this is the guy with the numbest bum on the Olympic site today - but he is also the 1st Hero of Leabank Square!!

Everyone can remember how long it took Sóna to dig the borders for the Edible Garden (zzzzzzzzz) - but it took one day for Ted to dig borders double the length on the green!!

Admittedly he had hundreds of Skanska comrades to follow him with spades, shovels, wheel-barrows, rakes, trowels, top-soil, compost, sunflowers, tomatoes, pumpkins, beans, peas, chives, turf & loads of sweat - but he had to sit on the digger all day long to get through all the builders rubble under the green!!

Ted - the whole of Leabank Square (metaphorically) lines up on the green, faces the Olympic site - and collectively - salutes your numb bum!

We sincerely hope there is a Mrs Ted to soothe away the aches & pains you must be enduring on all our behalf. Thank you for the beautiful deep, nutrient rich soil borders you dug for our food mate, you are truly the best deserving first recipient of 'Hero of Leabank Square'!

What a Perfect Day!

Leabank Square Shed!!!!

There are so many people to thank for the brand new Leabank Square Shed - but largest thanks must surely go to Demetrious for almost single handedly building the entire shed!!!

Demetrious - you are an absolute shining star - and the whole of Leabank Square applauds your very hard work all of today!

Thanks to to Tracie for buying it, to Derek Lee from PMMS for funding it & to Z & Nadira for helping out enormously!

This new shed is going to be used to house all our gardening & DIY equipment - and will make so much difference to the work we all do to make Leabank Square better for everyone who lives here!

Leabank Square Orchard

It seems like ages ago that the Olympic Delivery Authority chopped our Orchard down to make way for all that noise & dust that is in its place!!

But all hope is still not lost!

We have just applied to have a mini orchard planted right here on our green!!

Imagine this.......

..... you turn the corner into the entrance of Leabank Square - see the edible garden directly in front of you - then behind you see a row of British apple, peach, pear & cherry trees!!

The most logical place to plant them would be along the fence in front of the middle block - so that they grow on the green - and in years to come will provide fruit & shade for the whole of Leabank Square.

The trees will shade & feed both the green & the middle block courtyard - this means that all the downstairs residents in the middle block need only open their front doors - stroll a couple of metres - and pick some cherries for the breakfast!! How posh is that?!

Anyhow - we have only just put the application in - so here's hoping!!

We have also sent off a letter to British Waterways to get permission to reinstate our orchard across the canal - but this time in front of the Olympic Electric Fence. This will hopefully bring some greenery back to our view across the canal. Take a look at the aerial pics above - it will never be that green & luscious again - but about 20 fruit trees along the electric fence should go a short way to improving the lives of Leabank Square again!!