Talacre playground

• I AM posting a cheque for £104 to support the CNJ 40th birthday appeal and hope others in the community will be inspired to contribute however small a donation they can afford to this worthwhile cause.

The £104 represents 5p for each copy the CNJ has published. Even a small donation could help if there are enough of us.

My understanding is that there are some 65,000 readers each week. So even a modest contribution each would mean enough, hopefully, to make a difference.

Over the years, thanks in large part to the support of the CNJ, residents campaigned successfully for various important projects.

Among them, in 2002 the Talacre Gardens Neighbourhood Watch raised funding to create the Jean Edwards Memorial Garden which transformed a drug dealing dangerous area at Athlone House into a safe children’s garden.

In 2003 volunteers executed the planter boxes at All Hallows church in Savernake Road which rendered a dangerous area safer.

In 2008 the Gaudi-style bench at Talacre Gardens was created with the help of some 400 local children and adult volunteers.

All of those projects have survived to this day.

On May 29 2007, when Talacre Gardens was threatened by a property developer who sought to build a road across the park, residents formed a “friends group”. Overnight, the membership went from some 50 to 250 local people.

They joined forces to save the park by campaigning to have it registered as a town green. During a three-year campaign to save our park, the CNJ published numerous articles and hundreds of letters from worried residents.

Those were people who usually didn’t write letters but were spurred into making their voices heard through the CNJ. In March 2010 they succeeded and Talacre Town Green was finally on the map.

Without the support of the CNJ the Kentish Town Baths would have been sold to private developers. We now have swimming pools and other sports amenities for everyone to enjoy.

Around 2005 winter swimming at Hampstead Heath was guaranteed thanks to a successful court case.

In 1996 a David-and-Goliath planning battle to allow Solar House, the first ecological building to be constructed in London, was granted thanks to the publicity it generated.

The list of CNJ good deeds is very long.

None of these miracles would have happened had it not been for the selfless support of the CNJ, the editor, the late Eric Gordon, and his dedicated members of staff.

If, like me, you do not relate to or understand the modern way of raising funds, then post your cheque to:

The Camden New Journal,
40 Camden Road,
London NW1 9DR.

It has been there for all of us over the years, let us get together and help at this difficult time.

CÉLINE LA FRENIÈRE
Solar House
Talacre Road, NW5