Thanks to her cousin and husband, Hackney resident Davina Duggan, stumbled on to the idea of developing an App for trainee taxi drivers, and is now attempting to bring a specialist method of study into the wired 21st century.

The knowledge of London, better known as the “Knowledge”, is a test anyone wanting to qualify as a traditional  London black  cab driver has to pass, and has been around for 147 years with little change to it.  It is what sets London taxi drivers apart from their contemporaries world wide.  First, they have to get to know on a very intimate level, the myriad of streets in a six-mile radius of Charing Cross.

It can take anything from two years or longer of hard training, and three-quarters of those who embark on the course drop out at some point.  Training is based on 320 pre defined routes set out by the Public Carriage Office (PCO), they include all places of interest, museums, hospitals, police stations, cinema’s, statues, monuments, restaurants, government buildings and everything in between.

Revolutionizing: Davina Duggan

“My Cousin Simon is studying for the Knowledge, he’s trying to complete the  four books of pre-defined routes and that’s just the first stage” Davina told Hackney Hive, “one day my husband came up with the idea of an app, so I researched it, saw there was nothing like it on the market yet, thought it was a good idea and ran with it”.

Duggan describes it as “a multi-platform smartphone App for iPhone, Blackberry and Android mobile phones, which will help trainee taxi drivers to revise for the Knowledge of London Examination System. It will offer a fun, interactive user experience to enhance learners’ revision for the world’s most demanding training course for trainee taxicab in the UK”.

“I’m not saying the knowledge should be easier for people to pass but even the London Chamber of Commerce said that the current method of assessment creates an unreasonably high barrier to entry, and that some modernization will reduce the high drop-out rate.

“Researchers say there is a worrying trend towards  older drivers choosing not to work longer hours particularly evenings and peaking at the busiest times, which is Saturday nights, that’s what I’m focused on.”

She adds;  “The App will not change the way the knowledge is assessed by the  London Taxi and Private Hire (formerly PCO) but we do hope it will go some way in enhancing the experience of learning the points and the runs. Basically it will have an interactive map of London within a 6 mile radius of Charing Cross;display the 320 runs at the click of a button and calculate the shortest possible route.

“It will also allow you to change defined runs to avoid traffic hotspots, change of road layouts, road works and other unique features.

“I am also taking on board comments and suggestions from knowledge students and current taxi drivers. So far one experienced cabbie has suggested a flash card system, which has already been incorporated into the App”.

To help with development and marketing of the App, Duggan is raising funds via “Crowd Funding” and aim to raise £10,000

Having a back ground in research helped mother of two Duggan, who by day is a Parliamentary Consultant to Labour MP’s and writes ministerial policy replies for the public sector.  Prior to politics, Davina started with the Metropolitan Police as a Communications officer for 3 1/2 years.

A graduate of Nottingham Trent University and Goldsmiths College, Davina started working for ITN as a Runner on Tonight With Trevor McDonald  and later became the first Black Assistant News Editor.  When asked if entering politics was in her plans, Davina responded “right now my family comes first.”

To find out more check out Set Apart Solutions crowd funding page and You Tube video below.

You can follow Davina Duggan on Twitter and her blog My [Political] Bits

A person holds a placard outside the court of appeal in support of Sam Hallam, who has been released from prison after seven years. Photograph: Mike Hornby/PA

This article titled “How a community’s outcry led to campaign for justice for Sam Hallam” was written by Sandra Laville, for The Guardian on Wednesday 16th May 2012 19.39 UTC

Five years ago in a public hall in Hoxton, London, it was the strength of a community loudly protesting the innocence of Sam Hallam that made a veteran justice campaigner believe something was terribly wrong.

Paul May, who worked on the campaign to free the Birmingham Six, had been asked to help out by friends of Hallam following his conviction in 2005 for the murder in a gang attack of Essayas Kassahun.

Kassahun died when he came to the aid of a friend, Louis Colley, who was being attacked in Old Street by a mob of youths over a perceived insult.

Before the attack, 40 to 50 youths had gathered in the area, and when the confrontation came it lasted a matter of seconds. Colley escaped but Kassahun was killed with a penetrating wound to the head. He walked a short distance to a nearby petrol station, where he collapsed. He died two days later in hospital.

Hallam was one of two individuals convicted of the killing in 2005. Six others were acquitted.

He was convicted on the say-so of two supposed witnesses. There was nothing else to link him to the scene at the junction of Bath Street and Old Street at 8.45pm on Monday 11 October 2004.

The key witness against him, Phoebe Henville, changed her account several times, and when challenged at Hallam’s trial in cross-examination as to why she had identified him, she said: “I just wanted someone to blame.” The other witness who told police Hallam was at the scene retracted his evidence at the trial, saying he could not identify him. Bilal Khelfa also stated he only named Hallam because he had been given his name by Henville. No forensic evidence linked Hallam to the scene and he denied being there on the night.

Hallam’s friends and family recruited May, knowing his record, and after a meeting with Hallam’s mother, Wendy, he agreed to attend a meeting in Regan Way community hall some five years ago.

“I expected a few people to be there,” May said. “When I turned up, there were more than 200 people inside. They were friends, neighbours, members of the family, people in the community who knew Sam. That was the thing that struck me – they were from his community, they knew Sam Hallam, they had known him since he was a child, and they knew he wasn’t the sort of guy to get involved in something like this.”

From that moment May was convinced. It was to take many more years – a failed criminal appeal in 2007; a play entitled Someone To Blame, which was performed at the King’s Head in Islington; the intervention of the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC); and, most importantly, the combination of May’s experience and the sheer will of the community to finally bring justice for 24-year-old Hallam.

Matt Foot, Hallam’s lawyer, said: “The whole community knows he wasn’t there. It’s a solid working class community, people who don’t like it when things go wrong like this, it becomes a sore which effects them all.

“This case never should have gone to a jury. This is what it leads to – innocent people being put inside.”

When Hallam’s 2007 appeal failed, it was critical for May to get the CCRC to investigate the conviction. He knew the only way to do so was to come up with new evidence. Using the community as his detectives, he identified nine witnesses who had been at the scene, knew Hallam and made statements saying he was not there.

Presented with this evidence, commissioners from the CCRC agreed to examine the case and – unusually – instructed an outside force, Thames Valley police, to review the case. Detective Chief Inspector Steve Tolmie, a homicide detective with a long record of murder investigations, led the new inquiry. “We applied fresh eyes,” he told the Guardian. “We were given a very broad remit.” Tolmie would not be drawn publicly on the details, but what he uncovered showed that the original investigation by the Metropolitan police was unsatisfactory in many ways.

The Thames Valley team discovered that the Met did not carry out cell site analysis of Hallam’s phone and did not disclose that another young man, Tyrone Isaacs, who had been named as present at the scene, was in possession of a broomhandle with a nail in one end. Isaacs was also in possession of a mobile phone with no back – and Colley told police he was in possession of such a phone when the attack took place.

Police also did not disclose that it was rumoured that another man, also called Sam, was involved.

May said the Met inquiry was a “lacklustre, mediocre investigation” and was considering whether to refer the case to the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

Detective Chief Inspector Michael Broster who led the murder inquiry was criticised in court of appeal documents. Broster – who has since been promoted to a detective superintendent in the anti-terrorist squad – was criticised again two weeks ago by the coroner in the Gareth Williams trial for failing to disclose evidence and for being lacklustre in pursuit of lines of inquiry.

May said: “It is remarkable that exactly the same criticism that the coroner had of the officer in the Williams inquest are precisely the words we would use about the investigation into the murder. The whole investigation had a casual approach to disclosure and it led to an injustice which only now – seven years on – is being righted.”

guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010

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Police were called to Lansdowne Drive near London Fields at 10.30 pm last night, after reports of gunshots.

They arrived to find no injuries or people at the scene,but found evidence of  a gun discharge.

There have been no arrests, but Landsdowne Drive and the west side of London Fields is closed, while officers from Trident investigate.

Lansdowne Drive near the Trederwen Road junction will be closed for most of the morning.  Diversion in operation – affecting bus route 394.

Family and friends, including the actor Ray Winstone, have campaigned to have Sam Hallam's case reopened. Photograph: Graham Turner for the Guardian

This article titled “Sam Hallam released after prosecution decides against opposing his appeal” was written by Sandra Laville, crime correspondent, for guardian.co.uk on Wednesday 16th May 2012 14.54 UTC

Sam Hallam, who has served seven years for murder, is to be released from prison after the prosecution told the court it would not oppose his appeal.

In a dramatic moment at the court of appeal on Wednesday, 24-year-old Hallam was told that he would be released. Jailed in 2005 for the murder of Essayas Kassahun, he has always protested his innocence and his family and friends have campaigned fiercely for his release.

The Metropolitan police face criticism for their murder inquiry and were accused in court of failing to disclose evidence and to pursue lines of inquiry.

Supporters and Hallam’s mother, Wendy, wept in court. Outside, scores of friends from north London repeated: “We just can’t believe this.”

Hallam – who was 17 at the time of the offence – was convicted in 2005 of murdering trainee chef Kassahun in Hoxton in October 2004. He was sentenced to life with the recommendation he serve 12 years.

Hallam was convicted on the basis of disputed identification by two witnesses who placed him at the scene of the killing. In his defence, Hallam claimed he was playing football with a friend at the time. He said he knew there was going to be trouble on the night of the killing and had wanted to avoid it.

On Wednesday, Henry Blaxhall QC, for Hallam, told the appeal court that new evidence showed Hallam was not at the murder scene and raised serious doubts about the reliability of the only evidence against him from two witnesses.

Blaxhall labelled the case a “serious miscarriage of justice” and said the combination of police failures to investigate and to disclose evidence, and the unreliability of the witness evidence had combined to put him wrongly in jail.

The appeal was brought after the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) instructed an outside force – Thames Valley – to review the original murder inquiry and pursue new lines of investigation.

Thames Valley police and the CCRC both criticised the original Met police inquiry in documents submitted to the appeal court.

Paul May, who ran the campaign for Hallam’s family, said they had uncovered nine witnesses who said Hallam was not at the scene.

The main evidence against Hallam came from a young girl, Phoebe Henville, who changed her account several times. There was no forensic evidence to link Hallam to the scene and he was of previous good character.

Henville said in cross-examination at the original trial, when pressed as to why she had identified Hallam: “I just wanted someone to blame.”

David Hatton, QC for the prosecution, stood shortly after 2pm to announce the crown would not be defending the appeal. “We have given this anxious consideration for a long time and during today and we are not in a position to oppose the appeal,” he said.

Court of appeal judges are expected formally to quash the murder conviction at noon on Thursday.

Michael Broster, the police officer who led the original murder inquiry, was criticised by May outside court on Wednesday, and by the CCRC and Thames Valley police for his investigation in documents presented to the court.

The same officer was also criticised this month by the coroner in the Gareth Williams inquest.

Hallam’s father committed suicide while his son was in prison. His uncle said: “It’s disgusting. A young girl gave three different accounts of what happened; there was no DNA, nothing; and the police have based their case on that girl.”

Kassahun, 21, had come to the aid of a friend, Louis Colley, who was being attacked on Old Street, in central London, by a mob of youths over a trivial perceived insult.

One of seven charged with the murder, Hallam initially, on the advice of his lawyer, declined to answer police questions, something his supporters claim may have counted against him at the trial.

Another man, Bullabeck Ringblong, was also convicted of the murder and is serving life.

Among the supporters of Hallam outside court on Wednesday was Patrick Maguire, who was wrongly accused over the 1974 Guildford pub bombings. Hallam’s other supporters include the actor Ray Winstone, but the campaign to free him has been driven by friends and members of the community in Hoxton. Penny Millard, a friend, said the community had united to campaign for Hallam.

“They all knew he was innocent. He wasn’t there,” she said. “Today is amazing. It should have happened sooner but the wheels of justice are slow. We can’t believe this.”

guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010

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As part of their City Dog events for dog owners and their furry friends, Dogs trust have announced some new dates. They will be offering FREE dog micro chipping, mini agility, neutering, claw clipping and general advice

24th May – Stoke Newington Common – 12-5pm

8th June – Butterfield Green Park – 1-6pm

20th June – St Johns Church, Lower Clapton Road – 1-6pm

For more information :

City Dogs Hotline Number as a contact: 07539 863 407  or  email: citydogs@dogstrust.org.uk

Dogs Trust

6:25 AM UPDATE : MISSING WOMAN FOUND

PHOTO OF FOUND PERSON REMOVED

People are concerned about a 26 year old woman, Devorah Leah Abraham, who has not been seen since she left her home in Stamford Hill, yesterday (Monday) morning for college in Barnet.

Devorah Leah is described as 5’2, has brown hair (possibly in a pony tail), wearing a turquoise sweatshirt, blue denim long skirt and light brown flat shoes.

Stamford Hill Shorim along with local residents have coordinated a search, using a business premises on Clapton Common as a command centre.

UPDATE: FOUND

Devorah has been found. Volunteers say she was found due to police upgrading her missing status to ‘high risk’, which in turn led them locating her from her phone signal.

The exterior as it currently is Photo: Laura Mackenzie

The new owners of 229 Lower Clapton Road, are not receiving the same ecstatic and warm welcome the pub next door which opened on Thursday has.  Much of Clapton and afar have been quite giddy about the prospect of  the Clapton Hart opening.  By Thursday morning it reached fever pitch and judging by the twitter feeds, folks could just about contain themselves. By the cocktail hour, people were spilled out onto the pavement, drinking late into the evening.

In stark contrast, from the moment word got out about who had purchased the former night club, the parish council of  St Marys Zion Church claim they have been relentlessly hounded by Julia Lafferty, founder of the Friends of Clapton Cinematograph Theatre (FCCT) and Clapton Arts Trust (CAT), in an effort to gain access to the building interior.

The intention was to allow FCCT access, but the property was later discovered to contain asbestos, so on health and safety grounds could not give access to the public.  Soon after, talks broke down and the church admin withdrew from talks and made it clear.

But the church it not a “sexy” or viable project that attracts the younger, white upwardly mobile professionals FCCT’s goals attract.  For them, a trendy picture house to screen indy or obscure films would be more their style, and that is what many were advocating before it was bought.

The architecture of external facia is based on St Mary of Zion Church in Axum, Ethiopia

A spokes person for the St Mary’s Zion Church told me: “We acquired the site on May 17, 2011 after 38 years of no permanent building. Our purchase was without any applications for grants or funding, but through parishioners, public donations and hard saving.

“We bought the building on the understanding that it was not listed nor a building of town scape merit. This was confirmed via the Borough of Hackneys Conservation area map for Clapton Pond, which confirmed the former nightclub as being a building within this zone, but not identified with any heritage significance.

He added:  “Members of the administration attended a public meeting in June 2011, where we were informed of local interest in our building. We conveyed through various local Councillors, our intentions to convert the former night club into a church, youth and community centre”.

Once the pride and joy of the Black community, the site over time, had a turbulent history which included a shooting death outside the club and other violent crimes, which led Hackney Council to revoke it’s license in 2007.  It lay empty until it was bought in May 2011 and has been a nightmare for the new owners, who have been hampered every step of the way,  by the demands of the FCCT aided by Hackney Council Councillors.

The FCCT is just one of a number of special interest groups that have been set up over the years, by local residents who share the same interests.  But more worrying,  is how these groups all cross pollinate, and in some cases are chaired by local Councillors who appear to have an unfair influence on decisions and representation, of the groups pet projects.

For the Parish council of St Marys of Zion, their parishioners and the community at large, this type of undue influence of  local councilors has been a hindrance in the progression of the renovation of the building, depriving many of us in Hackney from usage of this much needed positive force in our community. The spokesperson said: ”We finally purchase our own property and have since had to contend with unfair treatment over a building we are paying a mortgage on”. The church has been using St James on Lower Clapton Road, for worship.  He added: ”The current objections to our application is said to be based on heritage grounds, but it has been proven and established that this property is not listed and has been rejected by both English Heritage and the Department of Culture Media and Sports(DCMS).”The site on 229 Lower Clapton Road was formally a brewery and an assembly/function room for the adjacent pub.  It wasn’t  reconstructed as a cinema until 1910 and then converted into a nightclub,  which was the buildings prominent use over the past 3 decades”.

The launch of Clapton Arts Trust. Cllr Ian Rathbone has his fist raised (in strippy sweater) David White is the bearded suited and booted gentleman, Cllr Linda Kelly carrying a child on her lap and Julia Lafferty with scarf and mouth agape. Photo: claptonartstrust.org

Fear and Loathing

It appears the delays in giving planning permission, stems from a calculated move by the FCCT and other groups involved with the aid of local councillors. Asked why the church was still waiting for planning permission following it’s submission in February, I received the following response from Hackney Council:

“The site contains a former cinema which was under review for listing as a listed building by the English Heritage.  The application for the change of use of the building to a place of worship including internal and external alterations, was submitted at the same time as English Heritage listing review was taking place.  Officers were mindful of the implications of the application should English Heritage decided to enlist the building as a statutory listed building and decided to wait for the decision.   The English Heritage decision not to list the building was recently made and officers and the applicant have been negotiating on an acceptable scheme.  Given the level of objections received, the application will be considered and determined by the Planning Sub-Committee in June 2012″.

The church council also say FCCT and CAT have not been truthful with the community in their effort to gain support and signatures.  They have even attempted to re-write history.  229 Lower Clapton  Road was a purpose built brewery and NOT a cinema. It has since had various incarnations.

One disturbing  element of the FCCT crusade,  is to play on the fears and prejudices of their supporters which is evident in a recent email sent by David White,  who along with Julia Lafferty is a trustee and founding member of CAT and other local groups. The email was sent to supporters  and members of various Neighbourhood groups:

 Hi Everyone,

As promised, a rare appeal for help on a local matter.
An Ethiopian church group, based in Jamaica (I believe), have put in a planning application (no. 2011/3486) to turn the rare, early
“Clapton Cinematograph Theatre”, at 229 Lower Clapton Road – in the Clapton Pond Conservation Area - into a replica of their “home”church in Jamaica.

Ominously there is no mention of the fate of the building’s many historic features in the planning application…..which would sub-divide the building’s auditorium and create a battery of rooflights along the top of the building.

The facade of the building would be rendered unrecognisable with a coloured polycarbonate arch and dome, tinted glazed units and aluminium windows.

To destroy local social history and an important and rare early survivor is incredibly insulting to the local community and shows such a breathtaking lack of sensitivity, let alone knowledge of how to treat heritage buildings, it is hard to believe, especially as they originally stated they were well aware it was in a conservation zone and wanted to “restore” it to its former glory.

That was in a dialogue initiated by them at the NE Neighbourhood committee meeting last year though.
Since then they have rather changed their tune.

The Hackney Society have nominated the building for inclusion in the Council’s list of local heritage buildings as one of the country’s earliest purpose-built cinemas and a listing review is being carried out by the Department of Culture Media and Sport.

In his defense, David White claims  “I sent a very badly worded campaign, which I sent out very late at night without asking for approval. I’m afraid I wasn’t thinking clearly when I sent it either”.

Since David Whites email was brought to his attention, Cllr Ian Rathbone has resigned as chair of  Clapton Arts Trust, where Cllr Linda Kelly remains as vice-chair. Their website mysteriously vanished earlier this week after I made comments, but I found it parked elsewhere.

Circa late 1880's: 229 Lower Clapton Road before its first reconstruction to become a cinema. Contrary to what FCCT have maintained, the site is not a purpose built cinema.

Following the email fiasco, the parish council sent an email to Cllr Rathbone and CC’d it to other concerned parties, informing them they no longer wanted a dialogue with FCCT and CAT. It read in part: “The Ethiopian Orthodox Church, St. Marys of Zion, is the first of its kind to be established in Hackney, which should be representative of the diverse tolerance for which the Borough of Hackney is widely known.

“Many of our parishioners have lived and grown up in the area and are familiar with the crime and underachievement, which influences much of our youth.  What is not highlighted enough are the achievements  and large number of  educated and professional black and ethnic minority role models emerging from the borough local and wider community. we are working on our community programme upon the understanding that our property although with in a conservation zone, falls within a Trident area.

“Our particular branch make up is a mixture of African Caribbean, Ethiopian and other nationals. The expression local community is not representative unless it is confined within this context.

“In particular but not exclusively, we aim to tackle the issues affecting our young disaffected black and ethnic minority youth within the area. To this end, we hope the church community centre some means of sanctuary for those who are underachieving and or influenced by postcode and gang related crime by providing positive role models to tackle these issues. We intend to work with other organizations to achieve a common goal.

“We have not rolled out our community programme but through communications with FCCT and Clapton Arts Trust,  heritage and conservation walks, take precedence over the issues impacting on people and lifestyle this administration seeks to focus on.  No discussion has been had on this point”.

Julia Lafferty’s arrogance and total disregard is breath taking, still failing to recognise St Mary’s as the rightful legitimate owners of 229 Lower Clapton Road. The FCCT petition website has been gathering petitions since the club was closed in 2007, yet Lafferty has being passing them off and presented them to Hackney Council as signatures against the more recent planning issue as well as calling for the old cinema to be restored.

St Marys of Zion website

Global superstar and XFactor winner Leona Lewis and rapper Plan B were in Hackney on Thursday to launch the BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra Academy, an initiative to give 10,000 young people in the borough the chance to work with and be inspired by leading people in the entertainment industry.

The BBC Academy will be based at the Hackney Picturehouse in the run up to Radio 1’s Hackney Weekend and will feature a host of leading names including Labrinth, Rizzle Kicks, Dizzee Rascal and of course Leona Lewis and Plan B.

The course will also feature a range of  practical workshops and sessions as well as the chance to speak to careers advisors on site with advice on CVs and interview skills. The sessions include: Music sessions on how to create your own music and promote it,  how to create your own radio broadcast with advice on scriptwriting and interview techniques. Young people taking part in the music sessions will also get the opportunity to broadcast to the nation as part of a BBC Radio 1Xtra Take It On day, taking the reins on 1Xtra for a whole day on Saturday 16 June.

Participants can expect business sessions on the basics of setting up your own business, how to pitch, market and sell and a special Hackney Dragons Event where young entrepreneurs can pitch for investment from our very own Hackney Dragons.

“Obviously, I’m from Hackney and I grew up here so I wanted to be involved” Lewis tells HackneyHive.

“Coming from here, people can relate more to us and I think that’s why it’s important for us to come back. This is to give young people an opportunity, to show them that people care and they are not going to be left behind”.

“It’s not often exciting things happen in East London” adds rapper Ben Drew AKA Plan B “and after everything I have achieved in my career I hoped I can inspire these kids to work hard at their talents to try and make something of themselves”.

Leona and Ben will also star in a new BBC Three programme, which will see Plan B work with a range of kids aged between 13 and 15 from his old school, a Pupil Referral Unit in Newham, to create a special musical performance.

“I met really positive people there, great teachers who gave me the confidence to do what I do now. They were excited to have me there” says Drew. The show he is working on with the Newham teenagers will preview at the Hackney Picturehouse on June 1st before featuring at the Hackney Weekend itself.

Plan B is not just under pressure to get a good performance from the bunch of teens he is also finishing his latest album ‘Ballad of Bellmarsh’.

“I’m still finishing my record and I’ve got to have that finished by the 1st of June as well which I’m going to be heavily judged on” he laughs.

Working with these young people is something he feels is as important as the music he makes.

“Literally someone like me or Leona coming back and spending half and hour with these kids, planting one seed and then walking away it can shape their whole life so that’s why I’m back there”.

Leona will also return to her old school to explore how life in the inner city can affect opportunities for young people, while Labrinth has already gone back to his former school, Stoke Newington School & Sixth Form, to film a Q&A with current students for the programme.

Lewis feels it’s important to make sure young people know the stars appearing the Hackney Weekend Show care about them.

“I think it’s just to give them the opportunity, to show them we care that they’re not just going to get left behind and I think especially with the Radio 1 show; it’s not just about coming and doing a big show and then getting out and leaving. It’s an ongoing thing in the community where people can go, where the young people can go, and do music and do dance and learn about business. It has to be longstanding and that’s what I want to do.

“The lasting work created by the BBC Radio 1 Academy and the stars giving their time to it is vital when youth groups across the borough of Hackney are shutting down” says Leona.

“I think it’s obviously one of the poorest boroughs in London and everything boils down to money at the end of the day”.

“Not enough money is being put into education, not enough money is put into community groups. There’s already people doing amazing things in the community like my Aunt who runs a dance and music group here and I think she’s a really influential figure in the community”.

“A lot of youth groups are being shut down, lots of the community groups I went to when I was younger are not there any more”.

Plan B’s latest video for hit “Ill Manors”, the title track of his new feature movie is an angry critique of society he says. Directed by Yann Demange (who also directed the hit Channel 4 series “Top Boy” which was set in Hackney) the video and track blasts the media for their portrayal of young people from areas like Hackney.

“For me I just took everything I’d ever read in a newspaper or heard on the news and turned it into a song” says Drew.

“It’s all bullshit; the way we treat each other, the prejudices we have towards each other are all perpetuated and manipulated, sorry to say, by the press”.

He says making a track and video like ‘Ill Manors’ was something he was comfortable with because of the work he is doing in Hackney.

“I did it in angry way and I made the video very visceral, and I think that for me to make statement like that and to make a video like that and then not actually put the time in to change things myself kinda makes me a hypocrite”.

“I think the reason I had the balls to make a song and video like that is cause I knew I was willing to put the time in to make a change” he says.

Drew feels we need to engage with these young people, throwing money at the problem isn’t going to raise their aspirations or improve their chances in life.

“It’s not going to help buying them a pair of trainers or a TV, that ain’t gonna help someone change their life” he says.

“It’s about spending time with them and planting them seeds and educating them and teachin’ them. Because the education they’re getting is shit and its not just academic education, its life education.

“Academics are cool but academics don’t work for all kids we need to find out what they’re passionate about whether it’s music of acting or art or something and drag that out of them.

Other activities include film sessions on scriptwriting for EastEnders and beginners sessions on producing, directing, editing and camera and sound work. Participants who have completed all film beginners workshops will get the opportunity to make a Hackney themed spoof film, to be shown on the main stage big screen at the Radio 1 Hackney Weekend.

The BBC Radio 1 Academy runs from June 1st to 22nd at the Hackney Picturehouse on Mare Street.

Young people from Hackney and beyond will be able to take part in the academy through their local schools, colleges and youth groups. They can also register their interest by emailing takeiton@bbc.co.uk

Check out the Academy’s Facebook page here: www.facebook.com/BbcRadio1And1XtrasAcademy

BBC Radio 1 Academy Website:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01d77xq/features/academy-home

Has it been 3 years already? Hard to believe it was the year I started this site and first announced, what is fast becoming a must go to event on the literary calendar.

Festival organizers  say this year, The Stoke Newington Literary Festival will be a refreshing alternative to the union jack teapots and misty-eyed monarchy-lovers.

Citing Stoke Newingtons long history of radical thinking, rebel rousing and counter-culture roots , the organizers promise this year will be grittier than ever. I think their definition for radicalism and counter-culture is a whole lot different from mine, but that’s a whole ‘nother discussion for a whole ‘nother day.

Some hardy perennials like Suzanne Moore,  Diane Abbott and Iain Sinclair pop up again, along with comedians Danny Wallace, Robin Ince, Josie Long and Simon Day.

The eclectic line-up also features ‘punk poet’ John Cooper Clarke as its headliner on Saturday 2nd June, plus Jackie Kay, China Miéville, Nick Cohen, Wilko Johnson, George Alagiah, Jenny Colgan, Mark Billingham, and The Gruffalo, to name but a few of the star turns that will be appearing at venues across N16 over the festival weekend!

This year’s festival features its first dedicated Turkish & Kurdish strand, which the organisers are hoping will grow to become an important part of the annual programme.

Turkey’s biggest selling female author, Elif Shafak, will talk about her new novel Honour, which features a couple whose lives span a Kurdish village, Istanbul and Hackney, and Hollywood screenwriter (and Stoke Newington resident) Tony Grisoni will be screening and discussing ‘Kingsland’, his short film which is cast and filmed locally and which features a perspective of the area that most people never see.

Festival director Liz Vater says: “We’re already being billed as one of the most exciting literary festivals in the UK, which is a huge honour considering we’re only in our third year.  We set up to raise money for literacy initiatives within Hackney and already have some exciting projects in development. It’s going to be a fabulous weekend with loads to see and do, for the whole family.”

The kids’ festival features a visit from The Gruffalo as well as family events in which kids can learn to write their own stories or draw their own comics. Additionally, the festival is going into 3 local schools on Friday 1st June, ensuring that as many kids as possible get to meet an author.

For full line up including musical guest visit Stoke Newington Literary Festival

Clapton Festival 2011

The Clapton Festival is back for a second year on 15th, 16th and 17th June. The three day event sees a packed schedule of activities which will make up a community showcase for all age groups to enjoy.

The festival came to life in 2011 when a group of local residents wanted to host a series of events to bring together the community, and celebrate both the history of Clapton, and exciting changes that are happening across the borough and boost the local economy.

After the success of last year local shops, schools, outdoor spaces including Clapton Pond, and amazing and unusual venues are getting involved again in hosting a diverse mix of events.

Some highlights confirmed so far include:  An opening night party at Core Arts will feature Molly’s Dagger’s – heavy rock ‘n’ roll to kick start the festival in style, plus Georges Kaplan Presents – jazz noir soundtracks from this experimental duo with tunes aplenty.

Clapton Festival 2011 Fun in the sun Photo: Joel Vietch

Enjoy a cinema history talk at Levy Gate, the Hackney Childrens Theatre will be performing a double bill in St John’s Churchyard, pupils’ work will be on display from the recent ARTS Week at Millfields School including a glorious flag procession from Clapton Square to the school, and there will also be Open Weekend at the Victoria Mission School.

Some local acts confirmed: Reggae Sound Connection is back at the Round Chapel and will feature the mighty Gladdy Wax Sound System and Solution Sound System. With Trevor Sax, Manassah and Pennyreal.

The final day will include the amazing Orchestra Elastique, a music improvisation collective, with talented musicians from around the world, at Lumiere on Chatsworth Road

There will be market stalls which include food and drinks, clothes and community stalls.

All local businesses, social groups of all ages, creatives and enterprising types are welcome and encouraged to get involved. Get in touch if you would like participate in any way, to perform or support or volunteer in any other way.

Please contact theclaptonfestival@gmail.com for more details.

www.claptonfestival.com