Although the City apparatus (like the Government) take a bit of a break over the summer, the Barbican Association and Barbican Life teams have so much going on that we’ve had to make the magazine a bit fatter this issue!
First off, a plea from the Barbican Salvage Store who are always on the hunt for bits and bobs when residents refurbish. What they are finding is that refurbishments are starting way before permission has been officially granted, and by the time they hear about it through the planning application, sub-contractors have ripped out the precious old bits and pieces and dumped them. If you see any work going on, please pop an email to them (barbicansalvage@gmail.com) or us (barblifeedit@gmail.com) and we’ll get cracking. If you come across the contractors in person, then please mention that we’d love to salvage what they are going to dump before it leaves the Estate.
The other call to action we are alerting you to is your lease extension. If you have extended already, then good on you, but time is running out for those leaseholders who might not have started the process yet. We know it’s important to do this sooner rather than later now because it can be more expensive if we leave it too late. Also, the cost of the extension depends on the property value, so before prices leap up too much, it’s best to make a start. Barbican Life are planning a series of meetings (some in person, and some on Zoom) with solicitors in the coming months. Let us know if you are interested and we’ll send you invites (email barblifeedit@gmail.com). If you have questions and don’t enjoy Zoom or email, please contact us and we’ll share what we know to get you started. Phone 078 42 23 52 68 or drop in a note with your contact details to 34 John Trundle and we’ll call you back.
Well done to all our neighbours who took part in The Becket Pageant for London. It sure must have been hot in those costumes but we do have some awesome snaps!
Thank you to Peter Savage and the local families (especially from Willoughby House) reporting back on the celebration around the dismantling of the last crane at the 21 Moorfields development.
Unless you park in the car park under Defoe House, you won’t know our car park man Trevor Barham and even the residents who DO park there will be equally impressed by his extra-curricular activities over the last few years.
Lest you think we have no more minibeasts to mention, this issue Julien Waite fascinates us with (much vilified) wasps.
I know it’s a little early, but our Winter issue might be too late, so we have some Christmas reminders for you: markets, competitions and a selection of great brutalist gifts to help you start your Xmas preparation early.
We complete the series of articles from St Giles’ on the remarkable hub they have created for organ scholars and the Reverend Canon Jack Noble contemplates urban harvest festivals and Saint Francis of Assisi (not quite so zen as we imagine him, apparently!).
Janet Wells and Gary Donaldson fill us in on the latest exhibitions and shows and please take note that in October, the Charles Dickens Museum will open an exciting new exhibition all about Dickens, ghosts and the supernatural. It will look at his influence across the ghostly genre, the effects he used to present his stories to live audiences, and just how much pleasure he took in scaring people!
Have a wonderful autumn and we’ll see you soon!
The Barbican Life Team
