Free dog training and micro chipping

The Dog's Trust is offering free Dog Training and microchipping in the borough throughout March.
There will also be vouchers available for free or low-cost neutering.


The dates and locations are:
1st March – St Johns Church, Lower Clapton Road, E5 OPD – 11am-3pm
13th March – Hackney Downs Park, Downs Park Road, E5 8NP – 11am-3pm
12th April – Butterfield Green, Allen Road, N16 8SB – 1pm-5pm
26th April – St Johns Church, Lower Clapton Road, E5 OPD – 1pm-5pm

For further details no these free events please email: citydogs@dogstrust.org.uk, or phone 07539 863407.

The Dog's Trust website is here.

Whitmore Estate Roving Surgery Saturday-18th February

Your local Labour councillors will be out on Whitmore Estate on Saturday morning, knocking on doors and talking to residents on one of our regular roving surgeries. If you want to speak to one of us about a matter that you think we might be able to help with, or want to speak to us in person about your views on living in the local area then leave us a message on the phone number on the blog, or email the email address, and we'll make sure that we'll knock on your door.

Britannia Leisure Centre cycle hire station - opening date announced!

Following our post last week, the opening date for the Barclays cycle hire station outside the Britannia Leisure Centre has now been confirmed as March 8th. It's good to see TfL fixing a date and not holding things up any longer.

We look forward to seeing the station fully stocked up and ready to go in just over three weeks time.

You can read the full story here.

Friends of Regent's Canal meeting

The next public meeting of the Friends of Regent's Canal is being held on the 15th February.

This group aims to promote the benefits of the canal, monitor developments and care for the canal's upkeep.

2012 sees the bicentenary of the start of construction of the canal and the Friends will be discussing ways to mark this occasion over the coming months.

The canal is an important feature of our ward used daily by hundreds of residents and visitors. If you would like to contribute towards its care and maintenance this meeting is an ideal place to start.

The meeting is being held at the London Canal Museum, 12-13 New Wharf Road, N1 9RT (near King's Cross), on Wednesday 15th February from 7 to 9pm. A printable flyer with map is here.

More details on the Friends of Regent's Canal is available on their website.

News from The De Beauvoir Association

Our friends at The De Beauvoir Association have alerted us to some local news.

If you are interested in cooking, a new project called League of Meals is hoping to start a pilot scheme in Hackney. The idea is to set up community cook clubs, where people cook not only for themselves, but make a few extra portions of food to be given or sold to members of the local community such as families with small children who want to eat home-cooked meals but are short on time or carers who can take a hot meal back for their elderly family member or friend. It is aimed at older people who enjoy cooking.

To find out more phone 07766 778826 or email johanna@sidekickstudios.net.

At the De Beauvoir Gardeners meeting of the 1st May, Blue Peter gardener Chris Collins who also appeared on the BBC programme Wonder of Weeds will be giving advice and talking about his experience as a gardener at Westminster Abbey.

Finally, the DBA AGM is in March when you can apply to join the organising committee for the coming year. You can also consider helping to organise community events, e.g. the walkabout in July or being part of the Show committee. To request further information email info@debeauvoir.org.uk

New Barclays Cycle Hire Station at Britannia Leisure Centre - but when will it open?

As you may have seen, the new TFL cycle-hire station has now been installed on the pavement outside Britannia Leisure Centre.

Last year we pressed for TfL to assign their cycle-hire expansion budget to De Beauvoir and, having listened to our call, it's good to see the station now finally becoming a reality.


However, the site is yet to open. The stands themselves have now been in place for more than two weeks and we've been given no timetable for them being 'switched on'. Its really disappointing to have TfL drag their feet in actually getting it ready for use.


We've written to TfL expression our unhappiness at the delay and asking for a clear statement of when the stand will open - we'll let you know when we receive a response.

Hackney Residents Awards 2012

The nominations are in for the Hackney Homes Active Residents Awards 2012, and you can now select a winner from the shortlisted candidates.

These awards recognise those people in our neighbourhoods who give of their time to help others and bolster community spirit.

There are four categories:

• Young Resident of the Year (under 25)
• Resident of the Year
• Resident Group of the Year
• The Ron Devoti Award for Services to Hackney.

There is an online voting form available.

Or you can fill in a voting form at the Neighbourhood Office.

Details are on the Hackney Homes website, or call 020 8356 3527.

Hackney and the snow

This is just a quick update on the work Hackney Council has done over the weekend to ensure the borough coped with the inclement weather.

Before the snow began on Saturday, both roads and pavements were treated.  The Council's contractors, Volker Highways, began on the roads at 4.00pm, and a further gritting was carried out at 7.30pm.  As snow was settling, a third gritting was carried out at around 11.30pm.  Pavements were gritted during the day on Saturday ahead of the snow.  Once the snow had begun, six waste crews were deployed to clear snow from high streets and town centres, and a further gritting on pavements was carried out over night.  Crews worked until around 3.00am on Sunday morning.

On Sunday, Volker were out on three separate occasions. Between 8.00am and 11.00am, the main roads in both the north and south of the borough were gritted.  Following completion of this, vehicles were deployed again between 12.00pm and 3.30pm to grit residential areas in the north and north-east of the borough.  A final gritting took place between 5.00pm and 8.00pm on the main roads, again in the north and south of the borough.

Today, both the waste and recycling collection services continue function as expected. Roads in the borough continue to be running well, however the Council will continue to monitor the situation over the course of the next few days. 

Radio 1 Hackney Weekend

BBC Radio 1 is holding its Hackney Big Weekend on Hackney Marshes on the 23/24 June.

Headline acts will include Leona Lewis, Jack White, D'banj, Jessie J, Will.I.Am, Florence and the Machine, Tinie Tempah and Plan B.

The festival will be held over six stages including the Radio 1 Main Stage, the 1Xtra Arena, the Dance Arena and the BBC Introducing Stage.

Hackney Big Weekend will be a great opportunity for Hackney residents and business. There will be workshops at the Radio 1 Academy in Hackney, open DJ sessions, visits from top artists and DJs and 20% of food concessions within the site will go to Hackney businesses.

Attendance is free for the event but a booking fee of £2.50 will be charged.

50% of tickets will be allocated to Hackney residents.

There is a two-step procedure for ticket allocation.

Applicants must be over 16 years of age by 23 June 2012 and must first register their details online including uploading a recent photo. Registration opens on Monday 6 February.

Once registered, applicants can then apply for tickets by phone or online starting on the 25th March.

Full details including frequently asked questions are available on the Radio 1 website.

Any new acts from East London interested in performing on the Introducing Stage can upload examples of their music at the BBC website.

All details of this exciting East London event are available at the special BBC Hackney Weekend website.

London Olympics Recruitment Event

The University of East London is staging a recruitment event to provide information on paid roles during the summer Olympic and Paralympic games. The event is organised in association with the London Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Attendees can find out about positions in catering, retail, security and cleaning as well as working within the London Organising Committee for the Games.

University staff will be on hand to provide information about the learning and training opportunities available.

This recruitment event takes place on Tuesday 7th February 10am to 2pm at: John Lewis (Stadium Suite), 3rd Floor, Westfield Stratford City, Stratford. Directions link.

The event is free and open to all.

For more information about the event and to reserve a place call 0845 266 8707

Hackney Empire 'Youth Takeover' Weekend.

Hackney Council's Youth Arts Festival is now in its second month and running through to the 3rd of March.

Part of the festival sees the 'Youth Takeover' at Hackney Empire on Mare Street this weekend. This event is made for and by the young people of Hackney and includes the final of the 'Alter Ego' talent search. This will feature the best of our borough's young singers, actors, rappers and comedians vying for the title 'Alter Ego 2012'. The final starts at 7.30pm through to 9.30pm this Friday 3rd Feb at the Empire - £2 in advance or £4 on the door. Book tickets here.

Other events throughout the weekend include an Opportunity Fair giving advice on how to get into the arts industry, Creative Writing workshops led by Tameka Empson (Eastenders), Dance Workshops led by Kat B and Comedy Workshops led by Hardeep Singh.

Places for these events are limited so email the theatre to reserve places - projects@hackneyempire.co.uk - or call 020 8510 4396. More details can be found at the website.

For information on the continuing series of events throughout February in the Youth Arts Festival visit the website or call 020 8356 7209.