Posts filed in category ‘Hackney’.

Activities in the London Borough of Hackney.

Hackney and the Blitz.

Timeline logo.

Timeline logo.

A message from Camilla Loewe, TimeLine …

Remember the Blitz?

When The Blitz got going in Hackney on the night of September 7th 1940, people just did not know what was going to hit them. Do you remember when high explosives were smashing into houses across Hackney, everywhere from Mare Street, to the Lower Clapton Road, and Well Street, Kenninghall Road, London Fields, Hackney Police Station, Lauriston Road, King Edwards Road and all those other places? Or the next night, when over seventy bombs crashed down across Shoreditch, Hackney and Stoke Newington.

Asking the Experts.

Well, it is nearly seventy years since The Blitz began, but there are still lots of people now who remember Hackney way back then. The air raids and the Anderson shelters, the blackouts, the fires and the smoke; remember being evacuated or staying and sleeping in Tube stations, seeing London blown to pieces in front of your eyes — and gradually rebuilt into the Hackney we can recognise today?

Plus there are plenty more people who were only little during World War Two, but grew up hearing loads of stories from their families about their life during the Blitz; and there are others who know what it was like when someone in their family travelled from the Caribbean to England to help with the war effort.

So, lots of people are still looking after so many memories: if you are one of them, we think that makes you an expert. Children and young people have questions about the Blitz that you might know the answer to: what it was like to be sitting in your classroom one minute, and then rushing down into the shelter when the air raid siren went: or listening out for doodlebugs. And how different did Hackney look before the war and during the Blitz compared to now? What were the cool places for kids to hang out way back then?

If you are one of these experts, maybe you could help children and young people with some of their questions about Hackney during and after the Blitz. You could do it by writing down some of your memories and stories; or answering some childrens’ questions by e-mail, or even coming to one of the Question & Answer session we are organising for Local History Month in May.

If you would like to get involved and share some of your memories, please send an e-mail to us at ebones@blueyonder.co.uk (or write to POB 44684, London N16 0XY) to let us know you would like to hear more about this.

And if you have memories or stories that you would like us to include in a Hackney and The Blitz ebook planned for this website, don’t be shy! Just write them down and send them over to us at ebones@blueyonder.co.uk — and let us do the rest.

Please visit the TimeLine ‘Remember the Blitz’ page for much more information about this project.

Filed in: Community, Hackney.

Raising awareness of prostate cancer in African Caribbean men in Hackney.

Prostate Cancer Charity logo.

Prostate Cancer Charity logo.

A message from Sarah Toule, Prostate Cancer Charity …

We are calling on African Caribbean men and women across Hackney who have been touched by prostate cancer to help raise awareness of the disease and the fact that African Caribbean men are three times more likely to develop prostate cancer than white men.

We are currently looking for volunteers in Hackney to train as ‘Community Champions’ to give awareness raising talks to the local community or help distribute our information.

We need your help in overcoming the cultural myths and the resistance to talking about prostate cancer in the community and we need men who have already experienced the disease to stand up and say to others that this is nothing to hide from.

For more information please contact Sarah Toule on 020 8222 7149, email olderandwiser@prostate-cancer.org.uk, or visit our Older and Wiser page .

Filed in: Hackney, Health.

‘Screenings of Home’ - Rio Anniversary.

Rio Cinema logo.

Rio Cinema logo.

A message from Jemma Buckley, Rio Cinema …

Thanks to grants from Film London and the Goldsmiths’ Company, the Rio is beginning a series of events to mark their landmark 100th anniversary celebration with a special screening of films from the Hackney Archives.

The event will also feature new footage discovered during the Rio’s recent ‘Home Movies’ project. The films are a rich source of memories, featuring footage of Hackney landmarks throughout the last century, enabling us all to relive Hackney’s vibrant history on the big screen.

  • Saturday 30 January, 1.30 pm.
  • Tickets: £4 (£3 Concessions & Rio Friends).

To book tickets, or for more information, please contact: Rio Cinema, 107 Kingsland High Street, Dalston, E8 2PB / 020 7241 9410 .

Filed in: Activities, Community, Hackney, Images, film, video, ~ shelf life exceeded ~.

Over 55s Writers’ Club at the Geffrye Museum.

Geffrye Museum logo.

Geffrye Museum logo.

A message from Sarah Fairbairn, Geffrye Museum …

Come and unleash your creativity in an eight-week series of creative writing workshops at the Geffrye Museum, with local resident and award-winning writer Donna Daley-Clarke.

This club is for any local resident over the age of 55 who is interested in writing — both beginners and budding authors. Use the Geffrye’s historic almshouse to trigger your thoughts, memories and inspire your writings.

  • Dates: Tuesdays 2 February, 9 February, 23 February, 9 March, 16 March, 23 March, 30 March and 20 April.
  • Times: 10.00 - 11.45 am.

The sessions are free, but places are limited and must be booked in advance. Tea, coffee and materials are provided.

Please contact: Sarah Fairbairn, Bookings & Information Officer, Tel: 020 7739 9893, email: bookings@geffrye-museum.org.uk .

Filed in: Activities, Community, Hackney, ~ shelf life exceeded ~.

Call for dancers over the age of 50!

East London Dance logo.

East London Dance logo.

A message from Emma Kerr, East London Dance …

Would you like to be in a dance film? Are you aged 50 or over?

East London Dance is making a short dance film about the heritage and people of Dalston and we are looking for dancers aged 50 or over.

We are running a workshop at The Sharp End (11 Richmond Road, Dalston, E8 3HY) on Monday 25 January, 12.15 – 1.45 pm.

You will meet artistic director for the project Colin Poole, and film maker Dean Stewart and try out some ideas.

To be involved you must available during the week of Monday 8 February when filming will take place. All filming will be done on sites around Dalston during that one week.

See you there!

If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact Emma Kerr, Creative Projects Manager on emma@eastlondondance.org or 020 8279 1052.

Filed in: Activities, Community, Hackney, Images, film, video, ~ shelf life exceeded ~.

What’s Your Story? Made in Hackney.

Documentary Filmmakers Group logo.

Documentary Filmmakers Group logo.

Make your own short documentary film.

When you look at old photos from a hundred years ago, do you want to know more? Why are they dressed like that? What were they doing before the picture was taken?

‘What’s Your Story’ is a way for older people to pass on their stories. Professional filmmakers will teach you how to use a video camera and make a short film about your story or someone else’s. The course will take place January to March 2010.

DFG (The Documentary Filmmakers Group), the leading training provider for professional documentary filmmakers in the UK, with support from the Transformation Fund is partnering with Age Concern Hackney to offer training on this special pilot project. Similar DFG courses cost £1000.

Sessions will run for four hours a week on a Monday morning in Dalston. Fifteen participants will be chosen to learn filmmaking skills and to produce a video art work.

To find out more about how to apply, come and meet us at:

  • Made In Hackney,
    Screening of New Short Documentary Films.
  • Saturday 28 November, 1 - 3.30 pm.
  • Hackney Museum (Ground Floor),
    1 Reading Lane,
    E8 1GQ .
  • Light refreshments will be served.

This is the first public screening of the best of DFG graduates’ short documentary films about Dalston people including:

  • Anthony - Street Cleaner and Philosopher.
  • The Grave Digger’s Story.
  • And several films about Ridley Road market stall holders.

To find out more details about this event and book your place, please email amber@dfgdocs.com , or phone Amber on 020 7249 6600.

Filed in: Activities, Agewell Computer Club, Community, Hackney, Images, film, video, ~ shelf life exceeded ~.

Hackney Routes.

Hackney Routes motif.

Hackney Routes motif.

A message from Cheryl Bowen, Hackney Museum …

Hackney Routes is a family history project with the aim to support local people to record and document their ancestors and descendants from Africa and the Caribbean by exploring the inter-connection between Hackney and the international dimension which have shaped family history and cultural identity locally.

The project will work with individuals and family members who live or have strong family connections with the borough. Participants must be willing to develop a case study based on interviews and research of an aspect of their family history which can be shared with others in the borough.

We are looking for people who will have an interest in family history, commitment to write or be interviewed as part of the case study and to attend sessions.

There will be sessions on using archives/records, preserving documents and photographs, creative writing, interviewing and the importance of DNA. The end product will be case studies on the Hackney Route blog/website. Future plans could be the development of a family history network, potential future exhibition and publication.

Participants will have a chose of choosing one or more areas to focus on their family history and the connections with Hackney:

Being in Hackney.

  • When our family first came to Hackney.
  • Spirituality/Places of worship.
  • Night clubbing, raving and house parties.
  • Our front room.
  • Living in Hackney (any period from the 1940s to the 1990s).

Travels.

  • The ones who were left behind.
  • Travelling for the first time to my parents’/grandparents’ homeland.
  • Ancestors from different parts of the world.
  • Achievements and success of individuals/family members.

Memories.

  • Herbs/medicine and spices.
  • Soul Food/Recipes from back in the day.
  • We Are Family (three generations that are still connected).
  • What my Mama used to say (folk stories/tales from the past).

The course is free of charge and the workshops will take place in Hackney Museum, Hackney Archives and other community venues in the borough. Due to nature of the workshops and activities we can only have a limited number of participants.

Course orientation: Thursday 26 November, 6 pm at Hackney Museum, Reading Lane, E8 1GQ.

The sessions will be facilitated by Every Generation.

To register for the course please contact Cheryl Bowen on 020 8356 3500, or email cheryl.bowen@hackney.gov.uk .

Filed in: Activities, Community, Family history, Hackney, ~ shelf life exceeded ~.

Hackney Silver Surfers Week.

Clip art: Hackney Silver Surfers under a full moon.

Clip art: Hackney Silver Surfers under a full moon.

The week beginning 21 September will be one of the busiest ever at Hackney Silver Surfers.

We have planned a week-long showcase as part of Age Concern England’s national ‘Itea and Biscuits Week’.

There will be something happening at The Lawns and online every day. We are still working on the program for the week — but this is what we have organised so far …

If you participate in one of our learning activities this week, please fill in an evaluation form (if you can’t see where they are, please ask Chitra or Margaret). Every completed form will be entered in a draw to win one of several £20 M&S vouchers.

Filed in: Activities, Hackney, ~ shelf life exceeded ~.

Video Hackney Walk, Tuesday 22 September.

Snapboard animation clip art.

Snapboard animation clip art.

This event will start Tuesday afternoon, 2.30 pm, meeting at The Lawns.

Have you ever wondered how to use the video functions on your mobile phone or digital camera?

This will be a really good way to learn how — artist Larisa Blazic and Emma Jones from Hackney Co-operative Developments will lead the group around the most interesting places nearby — and help you make short (typically 1 to 2 minutes) videos of what you see.

After the walk, your videos can be added to Larisa’s unique project that records and documents the ways in which people see the world around them. Larisa has been working with local community groups to capture images of Dalston and share them through a new website that acts as a collaborative, living archive curated by local residents like yourself. Later this year the videos will be displayed on a huge screen in Gillett Square.

Back at The Lawns, we will show you how to transfer your videos to a computer, and then upload them to a website.

You don’t need to book for this event — just come to The Lawns on Tuesday a little before 2.30 pm — and please remember to bring your phone or camera.

Filed in: Activities, Agewell Computer Club, Hackney, Images, film, video, ~ shelf life exceeded ~.

Call for home movies!

Rio Cinema logo.

Rio Cinema logo.

The Rio, Hackney’s last remaining cinema, is celebrating its 100th anniversary with an ambitious new community project that will make archive film more accessible to local audiences.

As part of the project, the Rio is especially interested in any home movies local residents may have hidden away. These films are a rich source of memories, and key to unlocking and accessing our pasts.

Towards the end of the year the Rio will be hosting a special ‘Home Movie’ screening day, where residents will have the opportunity to bring along their film reels and view them on screen. Furthermore, the Rio is able to digitise this material — so it can be played and enjoyed again and again at home on DVD.

If you have any old film footage at home, or would just like to know more about the project, please contact Jemma at the Rio …

  • Email: jemma@riocinema.org.uk .
  • Phone: 020 7241 9419 .

Rio website: http://www.riocinema.ision.co.uk/ .

Filed in: Community, Hackney, Images, film, video, ~ shelf life exceeded ~.

A Day of Exploration, Wed 5 August.

Photo of the wall of a half-demolished building, seen through a wire fence.

Photo of the wall of a half-demolished building, seen through a wire fence.

Do you want to be part of an art project that documents Dalston during this period of change?

Join artist Larisa Blazic and add your view to Mezzo Moderno, Mezzo Distrutto (Half Modern, Half Destroyed), a unique project that uses mobile and digital technologies to record and document the ways in which people view and interpret their built environment. Larisa has been working with local community groups to capture images of Dalston and share them through a new website that acts as a collaborative, living archive curated by local residents. Larisa invites you to take part in this project and, as she looks at the area, share your thoughts and ideas with some of the residents of Dalston. Bring your camera or mobile phone to capture your views and record of the area, then upload your work to the project’s website and see it evolve into a unique portrait of a diverse and characterful area.

Project Events on Wednesday 5th August.

Walk with us.

Larisa will be leading two walks around the area on Wednesday 5th August starting at 2.30 pm and 4.00 pm.

Meeting place for both walks is The Ochre Works Café, Gillett Square, N16 8JN (underneath the Vortex Jazz Club). Bring your camera or mobile phone.

N16 8JN Googlemap / N16 8JN Streetmap.

Talk with us.

Larisa and software programmer Startx will be presenting and explaining the project, the website and the software behind it at a special presentation at Studio 5,  Arcola Theatre, Arcola Road, E8 2DJ, at 6.00 pm.

For further information please contact Emma Jones, Arts & Events Development Manager for Gillett Squared (phone: 020 7993 3644, email: emmajones@hced.co.uk).

Filed in: Activities, Agewell Computer Club, Community, Hackney, Images, film, video, ~ shelf life exceeded ~.

Agewell Computer Club, double workshop Monday 15 June.

Digital camera clip art.

Digital camera clip art.

At the next Agewell Computer Club (Monday 15 June, 2 - 4.30 pm) we will have two workshops in one session.

a) How to upload files to a server.

Practical help in uploading files — for example, sending digital photographs, video clips, documents — from a computer, mobile phone or digital camera to the World Wide Web.

Why?

Because it is something we need to do often. It’s what we do when we attach a photo or a document to an email, if we want to upload photographs to photo-sharing sites like Flickr or TinyPic, or to Facebook, or one of the many Internet dating sites.

Uploading a file is a key World Wide Web skill — and it is really quite easy, yet many people believe it is something highly technical. In fact, we only need two items of information — the name of the file and where it is. If you know that, there is not much else to do. So at the workshop, we will try to crack this persistent problem.

Also, because it fits in precisely with the project we have started doing with Hackney Co-operative Developments. Participants in the project (‘Mezzo Moderno, Mezzo Distrutto’) will be uploading short video clips to a special website (code name: Dalston YouTube). We need to prove to them that the uploading is easy. People not involved in the project will also learn something very useful. The second workshop (see below) will be help and advice on using the video capabality of you mobile phone or digital camera.

What to bring to the workshop.

Mainly yourself.

If you would like help with uploading directly from your mobile phone or digital camera, please bring it — and all the cables that came with it in the box. If you need help uploading from a flash drive or CD, bring those too.

But you don’t have to bring your own files to join the workshop. We have plenty of practice files for you to work with.

Where will we upload to?

We have set up a temporary file upload area on this web site — a place where you can upload any file, and then see for yourself that it has been uploaded. If you have digital photographs of your own, we can get you started with TinyPic (it looks simple, it’s free and you don’t have to register to use it).

Clapboard animation clip art.

Clapboard animation clip art.

b) How to use the video functions of your mobile phone or digital camera.

Most digital cameras, and possibly most mobile phones too, can make short video clips. It’s not difficult to make a short video like this — but very few people know how to do it properly.

If you would like help on making an interesting video with the very simple controls on your camera or phone, this workshop is for you.

Larisa Blazic and Emma Jones (from Hackney Co-operative Developments in Gillett Square) will be here to help us get started.

We hope participants will be inspired to join in Larisa’s ‘Mezzo Moderno, Mezzo Distrutto’ project — recording this area as we see it.

Filed in: Activities, Agewell Computer Club, Community, Hackney, Images, film, video, ~ shelf life exceeded ~.

Mens Health Week, 15 - 19 June.

Men's Health Walk logo.

Men's Health Walk logo.

Are you aged between 50 and 65 and live in Hackney?

Take the Men’s Health Week Challenge by taking part in a Men’s Health Walk on Monday 15th June.

Meeting 10 am at Rhodes Estate Community Hall, Woodland Street E8 (just behind CLR James Library).

Introduction by the ‘Get Walking Keep Walking Team’. Healthy lunch provided.

Please let us know if you are coming:

  • Phone: 020 7241 5909.
  • Email: agewell@ageconcernhackney.org.uk .
Filed in: Activities, Hackney, Health, ~ shelf life exceeded ~.

Mezzo Moderno, Mezzo Distrutto.

Hackney Co-operative Developments logo.

Hackney Co-operative Developments logo.

A message from Emma Jones, Hackney Co-operative Developments …

A video art project for Gillett Square.

Agewell Computer Club members will have an opportunity to get involved with this wonderful project from Hackney Co-operative Developments. We will have an introductory session on Monday 8 June (starting soon after 2 pm), followed by a longer workshop on Monday 15 June.

Below is a brief project summary (obviously participants will not be expected to have any previous experience of filming, and your computer skills will not have to be any better than they are now!) …

What is Mezzo Moderno, Mezzo Distrutto?

The title for this project in Italian translates as ‘Half Modern, Half Destroyed’ and it comes from a conversation artist Larisa Blazic overheard when someone was trying to explain what Dalston looked like to a friend. Larisa is proposing to make a new artwork about Dalston’s architecture for Gillett Square in November and she wants to get local people involved in making it. The idea for the project is to ask you to film your ‘views’ of Dalston’s architecture as short films on your mobile phone or a camera. This could be views from one of the windows in your home, or from the old and new buildings you encounter while walking around this local area. Larisa Blazic will then use this material to make both a website and a big video projection ‘collage’ of images on Gillett Square in November.

This is a picture of another project Larisa did in Homerton:

Night shot of Morning Lane, deserted.

Night shot of Morning Lane, deserted.

For the first session on 8th June we would like to come along and introduce the project to you and answer any questions you might have about what is involved. On 15th June for the second session, we would look more at how films are uploaded and used for the artwork.

Larisa is working with me, Emma Jones, from Hackney Co-operative Developments. I have organised the events that have happened on Gillett Square before. It would be fantastic if you are interested in taking part!

Our website: http://gillettsquare.org.uk .

Filed in: Activities, Agewell Computer Club, Community, Hackney, Images, film, video, ~ shelf life exceeded ~.

London moves east - Community Collectors.

Community collectors logo.

Community collectors logo.

Interested in local history and the changes happening in your area?

The East London Line development has had a dramatic impact on London’s built environment and communities. London Transport Museum wants to find out what you think about the social and physical changes occurring in your local area.

Become a ‘community collector’ and work with London Transport Museum to collect and record material relating to the East London Line developments. You’ll learn new skills, meet new people and get a behind-the-scenes look at how museums work.

To find out more or express your interest contact Michelle Brown on 020 7565 7424, or email her at michelle.brown@ltmuseum.co.uk .

Filed in: Activities, Community, Hackney, London, ~ shelf life exceeded ~.
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