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SUMMER 2017
Life
ROYAL VISIT TO POPLAR
FIRE SAFETY UPDATE
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CONTENTS
USEfUL CoNTACTS
Head Office: 167A East India Dock Road, E14 0EA 0800 035 1991 Office open weekdays 9am to 5pm.
Email: [email protected] From a mobile it may be cheaper to call 020 7510 0500.
Estate parking enquiries 0845 463 5050 If your vehicle has been ticketed or if a vehicle is parked in your bay.
Neighbourhood centres
Aberfeldy 020 7515 6794 St Pauls Way Centre 020 7510 5600
Bromley by Bow 020 8709 9700 Linc Centre 020 7538 5748
The Cabin 020 3069 7401 Teviot 020 7987 5764
Burcham Street 020 7093 3549 Trussler Hall 020 7510 9770
Hind Grove - please contact Teviot 020 7987 5764
ANTI SoCIAL BEHAvIoUR CoNTACTS
Poplar HARCA ASB team 0800 035 1991 Out of hours, please call the police on 101
9am-5pm(Mon-Fri) Always call 999 in an emergency
Safer Neighbourhood Teams (SNTs) http://content.met.police.uk/Borough/TowerHamlets/contact
Bow East 020 8721 2807
Bow West 020 8649 3521
Bromley-by-Bow 020 8721 2041
East India and Lansbury 020 8721 2806
Limehouse 020 8721 2852
Mile End East 020 8721 2848
Emergency services 999 In emergencies when a crime is happening, someone suspected of a
crime is nearby, or if someone is injured, being threatened or in danger.
Police 101 When situations do not require immediate response
[email protected] www.met.police.uk
NHS 111 When you need medical help, fast but it's not a 999 emergency
Crimestoppers 0800 555 111 Call anonymously with information about crime
Tower Hamlets Council contacts
General enquiries 020 7364 5020 @towerhamletsnow www.towerhamlets.gov.uk
Emergency out of hours 020 7364 7070
Adult social care 020 7364 5005 Information, advice and assessment for people with learning disabilities,
physical disabilities, older people and support for carers
Children’s services 020 7364 5006 Social services and education including child protection
Council Tax 020 7364 5002
Environmental Health 020 7364 5008 Information and advice regarding food safety, health & safety, animal wardens
Healthline 020 7364 5016 To find a GP and other health services
Bidding for advertised homes 0845 270 2400 www.thhs.org.uk
Housing Benefit 020 7364 5001
Housing Benefit fraud hotline 020 7364 7443 24 hour answer phone
Parking 020 7364 5003 Street parking, paying/appealing a fine, reporting abandoned
vehicle, permits and information on mobility services
Pest and noise nuisance 020 7364 5007 Pest control advice and get help with problems, complaints or enquiries
concerning residential and commercial noise.
Streetline 020 7364 5004 Commercial waste service, dumped rubbish, Enviro-Champions, fly-posting, graffiti, litter and
litter bins, pavements, potholes, recycling, rubbish collection, street cleaning and street lighting
UK Power Networks – for electricity power cuts 0300 3163105 0333 3232105 from a mobile
National Grid for Gas Emergencies or if you smell gas 0300 111999
@poplarharca Poplar HARCA Official
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CONTENTS
Dear Residents your family and your neighbours safe.
The Grenfell Tower fire has touched us all. Please, for all our sakes, let's all take care.
Its ferocity and its consequences are truly
People have asked me how they can donate
terrifying and our hearts go out to all of
to the fund set up to support those directly
those who have been so terribly affected.
affected by this awful incident. The best
fire safety is the responsibility of us all. If way to do this is online via the British Red
we dump rubbish, or leave a candle Cross, or at justgiving.com
burning, or throw a lighted cigarette out of
Let's all stay safe and enjoy the summer.
a window, we could be the cause of a fire in
our block. With very best wishes
In this issue of HARCA Life we have set out Paul Brickell
again what you can do to help keep yourself, Chair
Editorial 4
News & Events 5 – 11
Your Home 12-13
Community 14–19
Health & Wellbeing 20-22
Naturewatch 23
Green 24-27
Get Involved 28-31
Resident editorial board
oth Richard and I were left reeling by the awful fire at or having a BBQ on their balcony ‘doesn’t matter’. We now
BGrenfell Tower. I have a friend who used to live there know just how much it could matter.
and remember visiting her. My heart goes out to everyone The response by HARCA’s Team – getting information to
affected. us all on the same day, answering questions, allaying fears,
As an estate board member and block champion, I get reviewing their fire risk assessments – made a big
involved with regular estate inspections, and making difference to my peace of mind. And I know from speaking
people aware of fire safety whenever I can. I know it’s with neighbours it helped them, too.
been said a lot since the tragedy, but I can’t stress enough I know we’ll do what us eastenders always do in a crisis:
how easy it is for people to think it won’t happen to them help out, do what we can and look after each other.
and their family – and that leaving something in a corridor, Fran & Richard
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EDITORIAL
he tragic fire at Grenfell Tower mean our thoughts and
Tprayers have been with all those affected.
Our staff and residents pulled together: with offers of support
in any way they hoped would help. Our Estate Services Team
visited every home to deliver important information on how
you can help keep everyone safer.
I am always touched that our community comes together in
compassion and commitment.
The key fire safety advice is on the next page, and there’s more
information on our website. Please, please take the time to
understand better how you can do your bit. And talk to
friends, family and little ones about what they should do if
there’s a fire. Hopefully, none of us will need to act on this
advice.
We have decided to go ahead with this issue of HARCA Life –
and, as a one-off, to deliver it to your door again - to make sure
we get the fire safety information out there in as many ways
as possible as well as to let you know about local events and
opportunities.
Please take care of each other.
Steve Stride
@stevestride_PH
SUMMER 2017 Editor Design and production
Life Hannah Douse Syed Pasha
Mahbub Rahman
HARCA Life is published four times a year. The next issue is due out in September
2017. If you would like to contribute something, such as a story, poem, photo,
letter or recipe, please get in touch before 1st August 2017. Send submissions to
[email protected] or phone 020 7510 0848.
Printedon100%recycledpaper.
ROYAL VISIT TO POPLAR HARCA Life editorial group
FIRE SAFETY UPDATE Fran Jefcoate and Richard Caley
Cover image by Rehan Jamil HARCA Life is published by Poplar HARCA, 167A East India Dock Road, London E14 0EA
For large print, audio or braille phone 020 7510 0535
HaddaadJeclaanlahaydakhbaarkuqoranSoomallifadlansoowac02075100535
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Fire SaFety
CHECK LIST
Why not rip out this page, tick off the actions on the to do list
and keep it handy.
To do:
Book a free fire safety visit from the Fire Brigade online http://www.london-
fire.gov.uk/HomeFireSafetyVisit.asp
Make sure you install smoke alarm(s) and test them regularly
Make a fire safety plan with everyone that lives in your home – make sure everyone knows
what to do, including little ones
If you live in a block, find out where all the fire exits are
And always…
l Dispose of cigarette butts in the right place – and never throw out of windows
l Dispose of rubbish in the right place
l Keep an eye on candles and when cooking with hot oil
l Keep communal areas clear of anything that could catch-fire
l Keep communal areas clear of anything that could stop people – particularly those who are
old or very young - quickly getting out of the building
l Keep petrol, gas cylinders or anything that is highly flammable away from your home and the
block
l Keep your balcony clear of anything that could catch-fire, and don’t BBQ or light a fire on them
l Leave security gates and grilles unlocked when you are inside your home
l Use one plug socket for each appliance
What Poplar HARCA does:
l Daily visual checks
l Monthly fire safety checks of communal areas
l Annual fire risk assessments, twice a year for taller blocks
l Inspections inside tenants’ homes: gas servicing, smoke detector checks and testing of
electrical installations
l Promotes fire safety to residents – including the most recent advice online
l Keeps areas clean and removes bulk rubbish
l Takes action against those who put safety at risk e.g. by dumping rubbish, or leaving things in
communal areas
To read our Fire Safety information online, go to poplarharca.co.uk and search
``fire’’ or call us on 0800 035 1991 to request a copy of the fire safety booklet
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NEWS & EVENTS
All the Community Benefits
oplar HARCA is converting to a Community majority of housing associations are constituted as
PBenefit Society (CBS). Community Benefit Societies. Poplar HARCA is and
always has been a Charitable Limited Company.
‘What’s one of them?’ we hear you shout. It’s a
charity, its work is to benefit their community, and When it was set up in 1998 it was one of the first
any money it makes is reinvested to benefit the of its kind and governance decisions required us to
community. be a Charitable Company. Since then, we’ve
achieved a lot, and the organisation has changed a
Our charitable objects aren’t changing; nor is our lot, and we want to make sure our governance
vision, our aims or our objectives. As well as still structure supports the ambitions we have to
having the Homes and Communities Agency as deliver our vision. Converting to a Community
Regulator, we will also have the Financial Conduct Benefit Society will streamline some of the
Authority regulating what we do. The change governance processes and bring us into line with
won’t affect tenants, leaseholders, staff, partners the rest of the sector.
or anyone else who we work with or support.
If you have any queries about the CBS conversion
So why do it? Another good question. The vast email us at [email protected]
Poplar’s hidden gem…
…is our Burcham Street Centre.
Just around the corner from
Balfron Tower, there’s loads of fab
things going on there:
LUNCH CLUB
A hearty 2-course lunch for £3
(what a bargain!). Wednesdays,
11:30am-1pm.
ARM CHAIR YOGA
Limited mobility but still want to
exercise? Wednesdays, 10-11am
(£1 per class).
ADVICE DROP-IN
Housing and benefits advice for
the over 50s. Wednesdays,
9:30-11am.
Check out: 56 Burcham St, Poplar,
London E14 0SH / 0207 093 3549
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NEWS & EVENTS
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New Community Mosque on the Burdett Estate
n April, the local
Icommunity joined the
Mosque Committee to
celebrate the official opening
of The Burdett Estate Masjid
(BBCA) mosque. Poplar
HARCA’s CEO Steve Stride
was joined by Mayor John
Biggs and Jim Fitzpatrick MP.
The mosque, designed with
the Mosque Committee, is
part of the wider St Paul’s
Way regeneration project
which includes a school, play
space and 109 new homes.
Oh, BUOY! Paddling
your own in Poplar
s it a fish? Is it a canoe? No. It's the latest
ILimehouse Cut craze - stand-up paddle
boarding (SUP).
Thanks to Poplar Union and Moo Canoes,
SUPing is a new fun way to enjoy the water,
plus it’s great for balance and core strength.
Want to get on board?
It really doesn’t matter if you’re a first-timer
or a pro. Experienced instructors kit you out If this has `wet’ your appetite, paddle over to:
and, once through the basics, you will be on poplarunion.com/events to find out more.
the water. Equipment is provided so bring You can also help the canal clean up its act by joining
your fun-loving selves, some water-confidence their litter picks both on and off the water. Last
and a change of clothes (just in case!) Monday of every month, sign up on the website.
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NEWS & EVENTS
wInnIng STrEaK
ongratulations to our Estate Services Team. Not only are they incredibly hard-working, they won Outstanding
CInnovation of the Year at the prestigious UK Housing Awards for their work with residents and URSs
(underground refuse systems to the uninitiated). Our Accents Team were shortlisted for an Outstanding Approach
to Regeneration at the same ceremony. We are also hugely proud of scooping the award for Social Landlord of
the Year (under 10,000 homes) at the Housing Excellence Awards, which recognises our work creating
opportunities in Poplar. Congratulations goes to all of our staff – and a thank you to our residents who keep on
seizing those opportunities! And finally – congrats to Accents Project Manager, Blossom Young who was
shortlisted for a Housing Hero Inspirational Colleague Award. Well done, Bloss!
Feeling
flustered? Talking
Therapy
ou’re not
Yalone! herapy 4 Healing (t4h.org.uk) is offering free counselling
Hotspots offers Tsessions at our centres. If you or anyone you know
women going could benefit from talking with someone, contact Jayne:
through the 0203 069 7401 or [email protected].
menopause space to
share experiences and
learn from each other, If in doubt, keep ‘em out
speakers and wellbeing
activities. NYONE AT YOUR door who you don’t know or weren’t
I’m feeling hot – tell me more! Aexpecting, even if they’re in a HARCA or other
uniform, don’t let them in until you have checked who
Sessions first Friday each month at The they are.
Cabin. Talk to Jayne: 0203 069 4401 / BEFORE you open the door, check ID. And if you still have
[email protected] doubts call Poplar HARCA or the Police.
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NEWS & EVENTS
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ON PITCH
Pockets of history Swap your showerhead for a real mic.
Open Mic at Kafe 1788 on the first Wednesday
The @Chrisp_Street twitter account has bagged of every month, with music collective Box of
exclusive access to amazing historical photos of Toys, wants to hear your warbling.
Poplar, thanks to Tower Hamlets Local History Book your slot via Facebook or twitter:
Library and Archives. Take a new trip down memory
lane every Thursday. Boxoftoyspoplar @boxo_toys
CHRISP STREET your marKET, your SHouT
We asked. You said. We made changes l And to the same building, warm bronze
to the Chrisp Street Market planning colour cladding and new balcony design
application. l Changing the food store along Cordelia
Street so there’s more space, especially at
These include: the bus stop
l Better views and access from All Saints DLR l More trees ensuring no loss of Poplar’s
to the Idea Store by changing the ground ‘lungs’!
floor of the building on the corner of East Visit chrispstreet-yourshout.nationbuilder.com
India Dock Road and Chrisp Street for news and plans.
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NEWS & EVENTS
View Tube
-DAYS A week, new café
7The Common Greenway
is now open at view Tube.
Mark, Erin and team serve
coffee, cakes, beer and
wine, and a fab all-day
brunch. Maybe indulge in a
brunch-cocktail in the
summer weekend sunshine.
DotDotDot and v22 London
have re-fashioned view
Tube’s containers and we
are looking forward to
future art and food
markets. Pop along to take
a gander – it’s the perfect
end to a walk or bike ride.
theviewtube.co.uk
@theviewtube
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NEWS & EVENTS
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YOUR HOME
NIVERSAL CREDIT BRINGS together into a single won’t be affected unless your circumstances
Umonthly payment: Income-based change. If you are making a new claim you
Jobseeker’s Allowance, Income-related have to apply online at
Employment and Support Allowance, Income universal-credit.service.gov.uk.
Support, Child Tax Credit, Working Tax Credit If you’re having difficulty or need more
and Housing Benefit. information, talk to our Rents Team:
If you already get any of these benefits you 0800 035 1991 / [email protected].
MyHARCA is on its way
Our new online services portal, MyHARCA is
being built. Using it you’ll be able to:
Check rents and service charge statements
Receive alerts and notices
Make payments
Update contact details
View repair history
Take part in surveys
Report repairs
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YOUR HOME
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A chat with our
Collections Team
Marium Begum and Daniel Lynch talk to our leaseholders about paying service
charge bills. Having spoken with a lot of home owners struggling to pay, they
wanted to find out what advice was available locally.
We wanted to find out more . . .
What have you been difficulty for all sorts of reasons. Our pick of the bunch are:
up to? Many were embarrassed or Toynbee Hall, Island Advice,
reluctant to ask for help – even Limehouse Project, Bromley by
We wanted to make sure though not paying could risk Bow Centre and the Tower
leaseholders were getting the them losing their homes. Hamlets Law Centre.
right advice. We work mainly
with leaseholders, but what we What did you find out? Where can people find
found out is useful for anyone There’s a huge range of services out more?
with debt problems. out there. They can help with It’s on our website at
What inspired you? finances, but also legal issues, poplarharca.co.uk/debt-advice
mental health or wellbeing,
We’d spoken with a lot of Court applications, welfare or you can pick up a copy at
leaseholders in financial benefits, all sorts of things. Head Office.
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COMMUNITY
Post-War
Over the last few years people in London, indeed all over the
World, have been remembering and commemorating the 100th
anniversary of key events that took place in what became
known as “The Great War” (1914-1918).
E IN POPLAR have our share of memories. None more moving as the bombing
By Richard Caley Wof the Upper North Street school in June 1917. As you’ll see on the next
Editorial board member pages, we have marked this occasion in what we believe is a fitting tribute
orchestrated by Stan Kaye. The era post WW1 was one of immense change and
social reform - too many to describe in detail within this short article. However,
here’s a little taster of what our forefathers were going through:
Did you know…?
…how badly we let our returning
soldiers down!
Fear, grief, sorrow: these are the overriding
emotions of war. For men, women, and
children confined to the home front
between 1914 and 1918, patriotic energies
and the evaporation of many restraints
were fleeting thrills when set against the
loss of loved ones. Children woke to find
that their fathers had left for distant
battlefields while they slept. Three hundred
thousand never saw their fathers again;
160,000 wives received the dreaded
telegram informing them that their The effects of war hit both soldiers and their families
husbands had been killed. Countless others
discovered the meaning of suffering, not return to; no work, no money, no prospects and
least those poor returning soldiers. nowhere to live; shunned by society in many cases,
Following the ravages of war and the extreme lack Lloyd George set about a campaign to change their
of any form of housing for the borough’s returning lives, at least in part. By 1919 local authorities had
war battered servicemen, Lloyd George, the Prime been required by law to provide council housing
Minister of the time set about change. Recognising under Lloyd George's "Homes fit for Heroes"
the debt that society owed to the men who had campaign. The beginning of social housing as we
returned from battle, men who had nothing to know it!
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COMMUNITY
Poplar’s very own
George Lansbury
…it wasn’t just women that needed Lansbury also involved himself in the women's
suffrage movement, and in 1912 resigned his seat
social reform to stand as a 'Votes for Women' candidate, but
Most of us have heard of the women’s Suffragette lost. Campaigning on the same issue, he refused to
movement and the exploits of Emmeline be bound over to 'keep the peace' and was
Pankhurst, but did you know that it wasn’t just sentenced to six months imprisonment.
women that were campaigning for the vote? Up He began work on the Labour newspaper, the Daily
until the end of WW1, the right to vote was Herald, becoming editor in time to publish the
actually restricted to the wealthy, gentry and land headline 'War is Hell' on the outbreak of the First
owners. The everyday worker wasn’t granted the World War. This was the most significant paper of
right to vote until 1918. Imagine, tens of thousands opposition to the war, and of pacifism, and
of war weary soldiers returning from the front line, conscientious objection.
fighting alongside officers who shared their pain
and anguish, but upon return they had no say in Lansbury served a term as Mayor of Poplar, and in
how their future would be mapped out. 1921 took a leading part in a revolt against levying
rates from the poor of the borough effectively to
This all changed in the General election in 1918, all subsidise the rich elsewhere. The Council
men over the age of 21 were granted the right to answered a summons to the High Court with a
vote. At that point property owning women over procession from Bow led by the official mace-
the age of 35 could also vote. Change was starting.
bearer, to the accompaniment of a band and a
…that our very own, George Lansbury banner proclaiming, 'Poplar Borough Council
was imprisoned for not paying his marching to the High Court and possibly to prison'.
“council tax” Thirty councillors, including Lansbury, in due
course went to Brixton Prison for 'contempt' in
George Lansbury came to the East End when he refusing a court order to levy the rate.
was nine. Son of a railway construction worker and
one of nine children, Lansbury endured an early life After “getting out” Lansbury regained the Bow
of hardship and poverty. As he matured he was Parliamentary seat, which he held for the rest of
determined to alleviate poverty and improve his life, becoming Leader of the Labour Party in
opportunities for working people. 1931.
He was elected to the Houses of Parliament as MP … if he did it, so can we. Being part of a
for Bow at the age of 51 and quickly became community is what makes us strong. Time
known for his views on social and humanitarian
rights. to get involved.
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COMMUNITY
A Royal visit to Poplar’s Angel Centenary Event
ER MAJESTY QUEEN Elizabeth and Prince
HPhilip visited Poplar to commemorate
the centenary of the bombing of Upper
North Street School (now Mayflower
School).
Relatives of the 18 children who died on 13
June 1917 came from as far as Canada,
Australia, New Zealand and America. They
joined MPs, Councillors, and local residents
at All Saints Church, followed by the
unveiling of a memorial plaque at Mayflower
School with the German Ambassador and
Karen Bradley, the Secretary of State for
Culture, Media and Sport.
Afterwards, guests and members of the
public came together at Poplar Recreation
Ground to view exhibits from local primary
schools, with music from a marching band
and the Poplar Singers choir. Wreaths were
laid at the Angel Statue to remember those
who lost their lives.
A huge thank you to local historian Stan Kaye
who brought so many people together to
make this event happen, our fabulous CaN
team, and all of the volunteers who gave up
their time for this momentous event.
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COMMUNITY
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COMMUNITY
Time for a SWay Centre is open Monday - Friday, 8.30am-3.30pm.
erving the best Brew in Bow, Bow Brew Café at St Paul’s
On Thursday mornings PlayPen co-work and crèche lands
allowing mums and dads a couple of precious hours’ work
brew over a brew, while their little ones (aged 6 months - 5 years)
enjoy crèche time just a few metres away.
Sarah and son Heston have been taking full advantage of
PlayPen. Sarah was an architect who’s using Heston’s
PlayPen time to write a children’s book: “PlayPen gives me
the structure I need to do something alongside being a
mum. I definitely wouldn’t have started this project without
it. I can get more done here in two and a half hours than I
used to in a 12 hour day. It’s a lifeline.”
Find out more: www.playpencowork.com/cowork-creche
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COMMUNITY
COMMUNITY
The East End & Docklands’
Arts and Events Venue
Tuesday 11 July • 7.30pm
Summer Events
Visit our website for full programme
Saturday 9 September • 7pm
Octopus written by Afsaneh Gray
Tickets: £8 / £6 conc.
An anarchic comedy exploring race, national
identity and what it means to be British.
Saturday 22 July • 6pm
BYOB (Bring Your Own Brass)
Tickets: £5 adv / £7 on the door
£2 if your bring your own brass!
BYOB are a brass band with a flair for hip-hop,
pop and jazz. Audience members who have
bought in their own brass instruments will be
invited to join in with the encore!
Box O ce
[email protected]
Box Office: 020 3039 3330
www.poplarunion.com The London Okinawa
/ @poplarunion Sanshinkai & Butoh UK
Tickets: £7 / £5 conc.
An evening of traditional Japanese music and dance.
Poplar Union
2 Cotall Street, Poplar, Poplar Union Arts & Devons Rd.
London, E14 6TL Events Venue + Café Devons
Road
13 min walk
How to get here Limehouse Cut
Cotall St Upper N St Morris Rd
By DLR: Dod St
Westferry (11-minute walk), Langdon Park Broomfield St
(12-minute walk), All Saints (16-minute Stainsby Rd 309 108
walk), Poplar (16-minute walk) 309 108
By National Rail:
Limehouse (17-minute walk) D6 Burdett Rd Lindfield St Cordelia St Langdon
D7
By bus: 277 108 Park
309 (stops H & A, Broomfield Street); 277, D6 Chrisp St 13 min walk
D6 & D7 (stops WP & WQ, Pixley Street D7 15 D6 Upper N St 108
or WO & WR, East India Dock Road); 277 115 N15
N551
108 (Chrisp Street, Fawe Street) E India Dock Rd A13
Santander Cycles: 15 D6
There is a docking station on Stainsby Road, 115 N15
N551
right next to All Saints
Poplar Union. 16 min walk
Access:
Westferry A 1261
Poplar Union has full disabled access 16 min walk
throughout the site, including toilet
facilities and disabled parking. Poplar A 1261
16 min walk
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HEALTH & WELLBEING
We are healthy.
We are happy.
We are Poplar.
Well one is a new initiative bringing community
groups and organisations together to make
Poplar healthier and happier:
Ready, Steady, Go!
Remember Rabia from the last issue? She’d set
herself a challenge to run the Victoria Park 10K after
working with the Silver Line Project which provides
coaching for bodies and minds. She updated us:
“Exercise not only acted as a healthy escape from
difficult circumstances, it made me feel awesome,
empowered. Wanting to challenge myself I decided
to do a 10K Run. I could barely run for more than a
few minutes without stopping but I persevered, not
giving-up out of pure determination and the belief
that I could do this, and if I was able to do this it
meant I could do anything I set my mind to. I did it.”
Rabia has now set her mind to being a fitness
instructor, focusing on challenging misconceptions
about mental health: “There’s no shame to having
mental health problems, or at least there shouldn't
be. I think the more open and honest we are the less
stigma will be associated with mental health.”
SUMMER FOODS
EORGIA PUCKETT (NUTRITIONIST & Programme
GCoordinator at MyTime Active) reminds us
that getting outdoors in the sun for at least 20
minutes a day lets our bodies top-up on
vitamin D.
“It’s time to replenish the stock of vitamins and
minerals lost during the winter. Get your 5-a-day
from tasty salads, crudités and fruit, and aim for
balanced meals (with food from at least 3 food
groups), such as one of my faves – Quesadillas.”
20
HEALTH & WELLBEING
HARCA LIFE - SUMMER 2017 OUTPUT.qxp_Layout 1 27/06/2017 14:13 Page 21
All together now…
HE BURCHAM STREET Garden is transformed. The Burcham
TStreet Gardeners, set up in 2012, have branched-out into Dates for the diary
arts and crafts, cooking and trips including Epping Forest, and
the coast.
All adults are welcome, especially anyone experiencing or Healthy Poplar
recovering from ill health. Saturday morning sessions are Week
gently paced, chill and chat with a plentiful supply of tea and
toast! 17 – 22 July
Roz, one of the gardeners, said: “It lifts you when you come Keep ‘em peeled for
here because you’ve got a purpose. If I’m feeling down it lifts health-improving
my mood, I feel more confident. Thinking of all the creative activities across
things we’ve done, it’s amazing that we had so little confidence Poplar
to start with!”
h E A LT h Y Saturday 22 July, 11am – 4pm,
Poplar Union/Bartlett Park
P O P L A R
Fun, fitness, friendship and nutritious food for the whole
f E ST I VA L family! Lots to do, including healthy cooking classes and
Health MOTs by a qualified professional.
for more information:
Wellone projects, wellone.co.uk and Bala Thakrar: 020 7510 9788 / [email protected]
Burcham Street Gardeners, Jayne Clavering: 020 3069 7401 / [email protected]
21
HARCA LIFE - SUMMER 2017 OUTPUT.qxp_Layout 1 27/06/2017 14:13 Page 22
HEALTH & WELLBEING
Punching above
their weight
for 2 years, Spotlight has hosted
Limehouse Boxing Academy, and
there are some pretty impressive
stats to show for it:
Want to get
involved?
Shah Rahman on
07944 657681
22
NATUREWATCH
HARCA LIFE - SUMMER 2017 OUTPUT.qxp_Layout 1 27/06/2017 14:13 Page 23
By Fran Jefcoate
Editorial board member
ACH OF THE four seasons brings its own sights, of to spot pipistrelle bats locally. These fascinating
Esmells and of course weather but Summer is little creatures are quite easy to see on a still, dry
by far the busiest season, there is so much to evening just after sunset, they fly along tree lines
experience if you care to take a little time to do in search of food and although they fly quite low
so. Trees and bushes are in full leaf now which can at times, it’s untrue that they will get tangled in
make spotting our feathered friends a little your hair or even come close enough to touch.
difficult sometimes but with a little patience you You don’t have to look up to see nature in all her
won’t even need to use binoculars to watch birds Summer glory, every nook and cranny is bursting
collecting food for their young. There are nests with life right here at ground level, there is colour
and fledglings everywhere even if you don’t everywhere as flowers have cultivated and come
manage to spot a nest site you can certainly hear in to bloom providing nectar for bees and
the chicks begging for food as a parent bird arrives pollinating insects all against a backdrop of every
back with a beak full of fat caterpillars and insects.
shade of green.
Our Summer visitors such as martins, swifts and Ponds and waterways are just as interesting
swallows have arrived back on our shores to nest, teeming with shoals of small fish and tadpoles
mate and raise their young before Autumn arrives while on the surface and surrounding banks
and they must leave again for the long journey mallards, geese, swans, coots and the more
back to Africa, such an amazing feat for such small secretive moorhens are brooding or raising their
creatures.
young.
Of course without an abundance of insects for We’re so fortunate to have all these wonders and
food we wouldn’t be blessed with the presence of many more in our gardens, parks and green
so many birds for our daytime delight and at night spaces so often overlooked and ignored as we go
bats appear to feast on moths and other night about our busy lives, taking time out to sit quietly
insects, they too have young to feed back at their in a green space watching and listening to the
roosts. Later in the Summer they will join their sounds of nature, breathing in the scent of
parents out on food forays to hone their hunting Summer blooms is proven to be beneficial to our
skills. Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park or the Eco health and wellbeing, I can’t recommend it
Ponds at Mile End Park are the best places I know
enough, relax and enjoy your Summer.
23
HARCA LIFE - SUMMER 2017 OUTPUT.qxp_Layout 1 27/06/2017 14:13 Page 24
GREEN
THE
grEEn
MILE(ISH)
HE ACKROYD DRIVE Greenlink is part of Tower brightened-up by public art projects. The projects
THamlets Cemetery Park. It runs between Bow include Endangered 13 which raises awareness of
Common Lane and Burdett Road, creating a ‘green endangered species.
link’ to Mile End Park (see what they did there). Check out latest creations and a host of summer
The green link backs-on to railway arches events at www.fothcp.org.
Plant Food
HANKS TO FUNDING from The People’s
TPostcode Trust, the Morgan
Stanley Garden now includes a
greenhouse and training kitchen for
community food growing, healthy
cooking and a food enterprise. There’s
also a great new toddler playspace
thanks to a partnership with Play
Association Tower Hamlets (PATH).
Designed by Chris Beardshaw, this
Chelsea Flower Show gold-medal
winning space was transplanted on
the Burdett Estate in 2015. It is
lovingly tended by green-fingered
Limborough Green Community
Gardeners, the Women’s
Environmental Network, and Leaders
in Community.
24
HARCA LIFE - SUMMER 2017 OUTPUT.qxp_Layout 1 27/06/2017 14:13 Page 25
GREEN
If you go doWn to HInd
grove today, you’re In
for a bIg surprIse…
IND GROVE’S PLAY space is
Htransformed, thanks to Play
Association Tower Hamlets (PATH),
funded by Morgan Stanley’s Healthy
Cities project.
The ball court on Farrance Street is now
marked-out for football, tennis and
basketball. There’s also stacks of new
equipment including tennis kits, skipping
ropes, and giant 4 in a row and snakes
and ladders games. And hidden(ish) is
the sunken trampoline.
To find out more contact Eleanor Image
on 0207 729 3306 or
[email protected].
25
HARCA LIFE - SUMMER 2017 OUTPUT.qxp_Layout 1 27/06/2017 14:13 Page 26
GREEN
Breathing not so easy
campaigning for cleaner air
ith residents, we’ve been measuring air pollution and have three ways that air pollution
Wpollution over the last few months.Some could be reduced:
areas of the A12 are over two-times the legal limit l more barriers and plantation along the A12
for nitrous oxide. Pollution, dust and noise are also l the A12 to go underground
produced by the cement works factory. l the cement works to close down or move
All of this can contribute to ill health, and creates a away from residential areas
particularly unpleasant environment in the summer. To join the protest contact Sally Anthony on
In April, locals protested about the high levels of 07983 576501 / [email protected]
POWER
UR FABULOUS ESTATE Services Team keep
OPoplar in bloom all year round. Check
out these beautiful photos taken in May ButterflyMixatSleafordHouseGreen
2017.
AlliumFloweratSleafordGreen RosesatHopkinsHouse,LansburyWest
26
HARCA LIFE - SUMMER 2017 OUTPUT.qxp_Layout 1 27/06/2017 14:13 Page 27
GREEN
Teviot’s the
Bee’s Knees
THERE’SA ‘BUZZ’ at Teviot Centre!
Residents started beekeeper training on the
‘Greening Brownfield Community Apiary’
programme launched in April. Over 6
months, they will learn about natural
biodiversity, and looking after an apiary. You
can visit the hives and learn more about
nature - and taste some of the 40lbs of
honey harvest expected in the first year!
*The project is run by the Teviot Centre,
Leaders in Community, Greening Brownfield
Community Garden and Beekeeping trainer
Abdul Miah. It’s funded by the Postcode
Local Trust.
Poplar Clothes Swap – A Swish New Name
t The Cabin every 3 months, Jayne hosts clothes-swap parties where
Ayou can leave your clothes and walk out with someone else’s!
Now called Poplar Clothes Swap, the evening works like this:
w you bring along up to 10 items (shoes, clothes or accessories) you
don’t want
w you get tokens - the number is based on the quality of your
donations
w you spend your tokens on a new-to-you outfit
The Men’s Cabin run a Vegan café, and the bar will be open for a tipple
(or two).
GET SWAPPING!
6-9pm on Thursday 17th August
at THE CABIN.
Contact Jayne: 020 3069 7401
27
HARCA LIFE - SUMMER 2017 OUTPUT.qxp_Layout 1 27/06/2017 14:13 Page 28
We are now delivering youth services
at four dierent centres in Tower Hamlets
SPOTLIGHT
HAS GROWN!
Bow Church
A11 Bow Road
Mile End
A12
Morris Rd
Devons Rd
Langdon Park St. Leonards Rd Bow Common Lane
Burdett Rd
Chrisp St
B140
East India Dock Rd
All Saints
Lansbury Spotlight Mile End Spotlight
Langdon Park, St Paul’s Way Community Centre,
30 Hay Currie St, E14 6GN 83 St Paul’s Way, E3 4AJ
Mon 4–9pm Thu 4–9pm Mon 3.30–8pm Fri 3.30–7pm
Tue 4–9pm Fri 4–9pm Wed 3.30–8pm Sun 3–6pm
Wed 4–9pm Sat 12–4pm Thu 3.30–7pm
28
HARCA LIFE - SUMMER 2017 OUTPUT.qxp_Layout 1 27/06/2017 14:13 Page 29
Spotlight is a creative youth service
designed to inspire, and it’s all free!
Find out more at: wearespotlight.com
A11
A12
East India Dock Rd
Bow Church
All Saints
Bow Road A1261
Poplar High St
Westferry
Poplar
Devons Rd
Bromley By Bow
West India Quay
Devas St
Devons Rd
Canary Wharf
Canary Wharf
Heron’s Quays
Bromley North Spotlight Poplar Spotlight
Ian Mikardo, 60 William Guy The Workhouse,
Gardens, Talwin St, E3 3LF Poplar High Street, E14 0AF
Tue 6–9pm Fri 6–9pm Mon 5–8pm Sat 12–3pm
Wed 4–7pm Sat 2–5pm Wed 5–8pm Sun 4–7pm
Thu 6–9pm Fri 5–8pm
020 30 111 333
[email protected]
wearespotlight.com
open inspire:
@weare_spotlight
#wearespotlight to
29
HARCA LIFE - SUMMER 2017 OUTPUT.qxp_Layout 1 27/06/2017 14:13 Page 30
GET INVOLVED
ere is another chance for under 7s to have fun and colour in this picture. Please send to HARCA
Life word search competition; C/O Communications Team, 167a East India Dock Road, London
HE14 0EA, or take a photo and attach in a Twitter message to us (@PoplarHARCA), by 1st AUGUST
2017. The prize is a £20 voucher for the Early Learning Centre. Please let us know if you want your entry
returned.
Name: Age: Phone (parent/carer)
Address:
30
GET INVOLVED
HARCA LIFE - SUMMER 2017 OUTPUT.qxp_Layout 1 27/06/2017 14:13 Page 31
ind the words in our grid below to win £25 worth of Love2Shop high street vouchers which can be
spent at 85 leading retailers. Send this page to the address below, or take a photo and attach in a
FTwitter message to us (@PoplarHARCA), with your circled answers no later than 1st AUGUST 2017.
HARCA Life word search competition; C/O Communications Team, 167a East India Dock Road, London
E14 0EA. the winner of the spring competition was fathema sultana. Well done!
Find and circle the following hidden words in the grid above
Summer Holiday Gardening Nature
Festival Picnic Canoeing Camping
Flowers Sandcastle Beach Sun
Swimming Lolly Barbecue Swallows
Name: Phone:
Address: Postcode:
31
HARCA LIFE - SUMMER 2017 OUTPUT.qxp_Layout 1 27/06/2017 14:13 Page 32
COUNTRY FAIR
Farm Animals - Fairground - Food - Family Fun
CHRISP STREET MARKET E14 6AQ
TH
SUNDAY 10 SEPTEMBER
11 AM – 4PM
Chrisp Street Chrisp_Street chrispstreet.org.uk
Another great event organised by Poplar HARCA
The words you are searching are inside this book. To get more targeted content, please make full-text search by clicking here.
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