Next meeting – 28 November
The next General Meeting of the Forum will be on Thursday 28 November from 7pm at the Vida Walsh Centre, 2b Saltoun Road, SW2 1EP (entrance faces Windrush Square). 
The main topic will be our Neighbourhood Plan.  We have had a couple of meetings with Ros Griffiths of Friends of Windrush Square, as well as sounding out other interested groups about boundaries and priorities.  More details in next month’s bulletin.

Brixton by Night – Survey
Brixton’s Night-time economy has been a regular source of complaints at our meetings for several years.  The Council has been keen to encourage entertainment uses to make up for dwindling retail trade, but has failed to understand the problems it brings for residents in and around the town Centre.  Consultations so far have been limited to business interests, but at last we hear of a current survey of residents’ views.  Tell them what you think at: https://haveyoursay.lambeth.gov.uk/en-GB/folders/night-time-strategy

More Events coming up

Brockwell Park Greenhouses
Two upcoming events at Brockwell Park Community Greenhouses:
Sunday 20 October at 6 pm, the Iyatra Quartet appear as part of the Herne Hill Music Festival.
Sunday 27 October, 12 to 3 pm is Harvest Festival to celebrate the food grown on site.
Includes garden trails, kids activities, food, live music and some distinctive cocktails.
For details and bookings, see https://www.brockwellgreenhouses.com/events

Remembrance on Windrush Square
Agreement has been reached that this year there will be a single Remembrance Sunday ceremony at the African & Caribbean War Memorial, at 2pm on 10 November.  This enables service veterans to attend the morning commemoration at the Cenotaph, Whitehall.  

Apple Day in Wyck Gardens
Sunday 20 October, from 12 noon to 5 pm at Wyck Forest Garden, live music, gardening advice and kids activities. Organised by Loughborough Farm.

Brixton House Theatre Events
Some highlights from their listings – find much more at https://brixtonhouse.co.uk/whats-on/

Change Tempo: braiding my way home, part of Dance Umbrella Festival 2024, blurring the lines between dance and visual art. Thursday 24 and Friday 25 October, suitable for all ages.

Free half-term activities, Tuesday 29 and Wednesday 30 October, 11 am to 3 pm: drop-in creative workshops for local families of all ages, combining singing, dancing and making.

Tones – a Hip-Hop Opera, 4-9 November, for ages 15+.

Events at Brixton Windmill
Milling and Baking Day, Sunday 20 October, 10-30 am to 4 pm – hands-on experience of the whole process from grain to loaf: book at www.brixtonwindmill.org
 
Winter Market returns to Windmill Gardens on Sunday 8th December.  This is a callout for more stall-holders, particularly for locally made crafts and gifts – enquiries to info@brixtonwindmill.org

New Art Show at 198 Gallery
Slippage: the Caribbean in Flux is the latest show at 198 Contemporary Arts & Learning. It showcases work in a variety of media by four artists born in the West Indies. It runs from 11 October to 15 December – open Wednesday to Sunday 10 – 5 pm (from 11 am at weekends).  198 Gallery is at the corner of Railton Road and Hurst Street, SE24 0JT.

Moonlight Echoes, Longfield Hall
Saturday 2nd November at 7 pm, tickets £10 or £15: a concert of art music by Black composers, duration one and a half hours with interval.  Presented by DeClassical Studio, tickets from www.declassical.com

Craft Activities at Art4Space
Lots going on at their Jeffreys Road Studios but here’s a few free highlights.  See much more at www.art4space.co.uk

Make and Mend Workshops are free on Thursday evenings (and the odd Saturday) but there are only 10 places each time, and some are already fully booked.

After-School Art Club for children is also free on Thursdays, 3-30 to 5 pmuntil 12 December (closed on 31 October).  Parents/carers are welcome to stay too.

Crafternoon, Fridays 2-30 to 5-30 pm on
18 October, 15 November, 13 December, all ages welcome – and if you get the bug, you might want to pay for regular craft sessions!


Health and Social Care

SEND Youth Group starting up
St. Vincent’s Centre in Talma Road SW2 will be hosting sessions for young people 11-18 with special educational needs or disabilities after the October half-term.  Sessions will run on Saturday mornings 10 am to 11 am from 9th November.  Enquiries to LeanneT@svp.org.uk
Other Saturday activities for young people are continuing as before.

Boxing Fitness for Adults with
Type 2 Diabetes
Organised by Champions for Change at the Marcus Lipton Centre, Minet Road SW9 7UH. Monday evenings from 6 pm to 7 pm.
Enquiries to support@c4cwb.org.uk

New Yoga Class at Stockwell
Taster sessions are being run on Tuesdays, 15 & 22 October, 1 pm to 2 pm at the Old Laundry, 20 Eastcote Street SW9 9BY (in the western part of the Stockwell Gardens Estate).
This is for Hatha Yoga, a gentle form suitable for older adults or those with back problems.

Shamha Drumming for Wellbeing
A reminder that sessions are continuing at the Stockwell Park Community Trust, 21 Aytoun Place, SW9 0TE, every Friday from 5 to 7 pm.
These free sessions of communal music-making combine physical exercise with relief from stress.  See also www.thetrust.org.uk

Empowered Mind Services
Let’s get together:
Join us for Connect Collaborate and Grow- Mind Body and Soul, Wednesday 30 October 2024 at 6:30 pm.  At Clovers Brixton, 58 Atlantic Rd, London SW9 8PY
Register on Eventbrite soon as spaces are limited.https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/connect-collaborate-and-grow-mind-body-and-soul-tickets-1036824569197?

Green Issues

Next Dr Bike Visit
The next session to help cyclists with repairs and maintenance will take place between 12 noon and 3 pm on Wednesday 30 October on Canterbury Square in front of Brixton Police Station.  Help is free, provided by Cycle Confident with the support of Brixton BID.

Lambeth Climate Partnership
The Partnership was set up between Lambeth Council and a few major institutions when the Council launched its Climate Action Plan. Now other local organisations and businesses are being invited to join, with a view to sharing best practice and collaborating on innovations.
To find out more, see https://lambethclimatepartnership.org/get-involved/businesses-and-organisations

Other News

New Heart for Brockwell Park
Lots of interest at our last Forum meeting in the renovation of Brockwell Hall as a meetings venue.  It’s likely that we will join Brockwell Park Community Partners to network with other groups interested in the park.

Around Brixton Rec.
The new premises of Photofusion and the Advocacy Academy in Beehive Place were officially launched on Monday 30 September in the presence of Helen Hayes MP, Jules Pipe, London’s Deputy Mayor for Economic Development, and Lambeth’s own mayor, Councillor John-Paul Ennis.

We Rise score a success
Since 2017, We Rise has helped over 1500 young people get work experience and pointers towards creative careers, partnering with over 80 companies. Three of their young people – Skye, Sia and Regina – won the Young Londoners Prize for their idea for a Youth-led Empowerment Network that re-imagines London’s unloved and neglected spaces.  They gave a presentation on this to the London Real Estate Forum last month. Enquiries about this and upcoming activities to hello@werise.org.uk

Meanwhile, on the High Street
People have been speculating about when Marks & Spenser will re-open, though it will only be for food sales in future.  Next door, the proposed blood donor centre is going ahead in part of the ground floor of the old Bon Marche building. In Atlantic Road, Other Side Fried is closing but its operators intend to re-open it as a Buster’s Hamburger Bar.
Many rumours recently about the sale of the two major market arcades – Brixton Village and Market Row – by Hondo, but the Popes Road site (once Tesco) does not seem to be involved.

Funding, Training & Support

Grant Deadlines
The usual reminder about approaching deadlines for various grant schemes. These first few were first circulated by Integrate, so contact eoin.heffernan@integrateagency.co.uk if you missed them.

Lambeth’s Winter of Food & Fun to support Christmas holiday projects for children 4-16, deadline 14 October.

Ecosystem Coldharbour capacity-building micro-grants of up to £5,000 per project, this round also closes Monday 14 October – see www.ecosystemcoldharbour.org

Lambeth Community Fund offers up to £20,000 over 2 years, deadline noon 16 October.

BBC Children in Need offers up to £15,000 a year for up to 3 years, deadline for expressions of interest 16 October.

Cicely Northcote Trust offers up to £5,000 grants over up to 3 years for projects dealing with isolation in any age group: deadline Friday 25 October.

Cory Community Fund, grants up to £7,500 for local community impact, deadline 29 November.

We also heard about these from Locality but you will have to follow up via a Google search:

Community Garden Grants from the National Garden Scheme offers up to £5,000 towards community gardens, deadline 28 October.
 
Triangle Trust offers up to £80,000 over 2 years for projects aiming to keep young women out of the criminal justice system.
Deadline 30 October.

Help the Homeless, grants up to £5,000, closes15 December.

Support for Voluntary Groups
In our last two issues, we mentioned Getting On Board offering support to trustees and management committees of small charities. Sadly, we heard this week that they are closing due to difficulty in attracting enough funding.  For the time being, FAQs and signposting to other resources can still be found on their website at https://gettingonboard.org
But don’t despair – free capacity-building support is still available from the Lambeth Community Hubs Network.  Help is usually provided on a one-to-one basis, tailored to the needs of your group.  Enquiries to info@lambethhubs.com

Help with Laptops and Smart Phones
Clear Community Web continue to run advice sessions around the borough for setting up or trouble-shooting your laptop, tablet or mobile phone. Current sites for regular sessions are:

Mondays 2 to 4 pm at West Norwood Library, Norwood High Street, SE27 9JX.

Tuesdays 2 to 4 pm at the Old Laundry, 20 Eastcote Street (western part of Stockwell Gardens Estate) SW9 9BY.

Fridays 10 am to 12 noon at Upper Norwood Library, Westow Hill, SE19 1TQ.

They also offer an On-line Services drop-in on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month, 11 am to 1 pm at Stockwell Park Community Trust, 21 Aytoun Place, SW9 0TE.

Linking Local Businesses
Brixton’s Business Improvement District (BID) is based on firms paying a small extra percentage on their business rates to finance the BID activities.  However, Brixton has many other firms whose rates are too low to be contributors, or which are non-payers because they work from shared workspace or from home.
Brixton BID has just launched a Business Club scheme for firms below the levy threshold. This offers access to BID benefits for £200 pa upwards, depending on the rateable value. Enquiries to admin@brixtonbid.co.uk

Linking Creative Businesses
Born or Made in Brixton was founded by Elle Moss as a network for creative businesses to link up for mutual support and referrals. Members get together in person every 2 weeks – see www.bornormade.com
Now there’s also a group for those working in Herne Hill or Loughborough Junction, meeting at the Carnegie Library Hub.

Your Forum Bulletins
If you are doing something around the Brixton area – an event, a new service, or making changes in what you already do – you are welcome to use these bulletins to tell other Forum members. That’s well over 550 on our current list, normally issued via MailChimp.  If need be, we can supply it as a Word file or even paper copies.
We aim to circulate around the 10th of each month, but that can slip because we work on a very part-time basis. Send items to the Forum Secretary at apiperbrix@aol.com by the 3rd of the month.
Keep in Touch
We want to be inclusive and ensure that these bulletins reach all community organisations, social enterprises and activists in the wider Brixton area.  Please contact us at admin@brixtonneighbourhoodforum.org

• If you want to be added to our mailing list, or to add a colleague or neighbour.
• If you want these bulletins sent to a different e-mail address, so that you see them more quickly or reliably.
• If you have moved away or are no longer interested.