In the winter issue of Barbcian Life, we have Summer Party photos galore for you, to recall the heady afternoon of community togetherness we all shared. Not since the Barbican’s 50th have so many neighbours gathered socially; we’ve just had our “lessons learnt” meeting with great comments and suggestions for next year. If you have any feedback on the day, do let us know.
We are also “all in it together” with lease extensions, and a reminder that we have started 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 15 Defoe House and we’ll call you back.
Back to this issue and a big virtual hug to Joyce Savage, thanks to whom we can feature our local Heron on the magazine cover – also very much part of our Barbican community.
On party day, we got close up and personal with a couple of the City of London police horses. A shout out goes to whoever it was I saw shovelling up manure at the end of the day! Thanks to Suzy Waite, we can enjoy a closer look at these fine beasts and their welcome autumn trample through the Barbican Wildlife Garden.
Erin Summers interviews Emma Markiewicz, Director of the London Metropolitan Archives in this issue’s Interview with a Local.
Supporting each other in the next few months is more important than ever because we have electricity price worries and the London Wall West development (including the Bastion House demolition) looming on the horizon. Regarding the upcoming chill, Barbican Life has approached the Barbican Centre for a Warm Bank room in the Centre. Meanwhile, the Barbican Quarter Action group continue to strive for meaningful engagement with the City planners for London Wall West (londonstartshere.co.uk to add your voice). I have yet to get a simple explanation to the question of why the Museum of London is closing now before the new one in Smithfield is built, and where the staff will go during this downtime. Surely the cynical answer cannot be that the City needs the cash from selling off the demolished London Wall West site in order to have enough money to build the replacement? If I’m wrong and someone in power reads this, I’d be happy to have that confirmed or denied so things aren’t quite so obscure to residents.
If you’re feeling upbeat and want to stay there, you may want to skip Alternative Voices this issue where Fred Rogers picks apart the recent planning meeting approval for the 1 Golden Lane application.
On a more positive note, a huge thank you to all our regular writers and advertisers whose contributions help to keep the Barbican Association funded. We couldn’t do it without you!
With the warmest heart, we wish our readers a joyful and festive Christmas and New Year!
The Barbican Life Team
