The day I didn't see Dennis Bergkamp

As we walked along Gillespie Road a smartly dressed woman trotted past the stalls selling 'my dad and I both hate Spurs' babygros.

'Twitter said they'd be unveiling Berkgkamp's statue today so I'm hoping...'

We followed, as did a few hundred others.

So many that all we could see was fans who couldn't see lifting up their phones.

Marathon for Wray Crescent

Tulips planted by the Friends of Wray Crescent, 2012

Dan Curtis, who will be running the London marathon to raise money for Wray Crescent (donate here), told me about his plans and memories.

Q: If you hit your target, what will that mean for Wray Crescent? Do you have a definite plan to do X, or is it more of a extra cash always useful thing?

A: I really have no idea what I'm going to raise. I know that slides etc are ludicrously expensive (you need the padded floor underneath) so in my dreams I'll raise £5k which Islington council will match (they have promised to match fund), and then we'll be able to buy something big and fun for kids to play on.

I've been around most of the local estate agents - I guessed they have a vested interest in making the local park nicer) and they've all promised they'll donate. But so far, none of them have actually turned words into actual pledges on my website. If they do, I'll give them a good namecheck...

This is my 5th marathon so most of my friends have sponsored me before for other charities, so that reduces the amount I can expect from them. But, I'm planning to do a bit of door knocking over the next few weeks and I'm trying to get the Islington Gazette interested...hopefully this will raise a bit of awareness.

All the money I raise will go to The Friends of Wray Crescent, and as I mentioned above, Islington Council will match everything I raise. I'm also hoping my efforts might encourage those who are good at fund raising and tapping into the various pots of cash that are out there to get involved too.

Wray Crescent is lovely: I grew up playing cricket there as a kid. So it breaks my heart when I see kids get bored of the playground. But it is poorly stocked, so I want to do something that makes a actual change.

Q: Suppose you made far more than your target - what would you do with £100k or £500k?

A: If I raised 500k I'd start a new career as a fundraiser.

I've always said if I win the lottery, I'd put aside a huge amount for Wray Crescent, and build a playground like Stationers park, and rebuild the pavilion, and open a cricket club for local kids there.

I played cricket in the late 1980s in Wray Crescent and that's when learned to love the game. We had a fabulous team who would go up and beat all the posh kids in the Crouch End ... there was so much local talent then, kids from all backgrounds. I'm sure it would be the same now.

Q: I'm guessing you're running a lot to train - any good routes near Hornsey Road?

A: I've made a secret pact to myself that all my runs have to go through or round Wray Crescent. It's a good way of adding an extra kilometre to whatever route I'm doing. My favourite routes include some or all of: Wray Crescent, Finsbury Park, Clissold Park, Parkland Walk (upper and lower), Kenwood House, Hampstead Heath, and Primrose Hill.

Q: Are you the kind of permanently sporty person who runs 10ks for fun, or has this been a shock to you?

A: Neither really. This is my fifth marathon in the past 10 years, but in between times I'm a typical 42 year old father of two with a sedentary lifestyle and a pot belly. Having said that, I cycle to work in central London most days and play football badly once a week ...even so I've been surprised at how easily my body has adjusted to running stupidly long distances. I only found out I had a place in the marathon in January, so only started training around then. I'm up to 16 miles in training, I reckon I need to get to 19-20 miles by April...so I'm on course.

All I need now is some sponsorship.

Anyone reading this, please pop in whatever few pennies you can afford, it all gets matched by the council, and hopefully it will help make a great local facility a place kids and parents can really go and enjoy.

In which I promise that this will not become an interior design blog

Nor will I start writing about 'pops of colour'. All the same, City Printing (opposite Platform, next to Hadron) fixed my empty space above mantelpiece problem and I am pleased.

I've owned a postcard of William Fox Talbot's 'Oak Tree in Winter' since 2009, when the British Library (which does good exhibitions) had one on 19th century photography. Last week I thought I'd see if I could buy a print of it and discovered that the Getty will let you download a high resolution PDF for free, through their Open Content Programme.

Then I sent the file to City Printing and they printed it on A2. For £12 pounds. That, plus Ikea frame, is it.

Medieval Hornsey Road

The inner North London suburbs are all 19th century-ish, built just in time for Charles Pooter to move in. The roads though, that's a different story.

Hornsey Road peaked during the reign of Edward I when it was part of the Great North Road out of London. By 1300 it was so crowded that a relief road was built up Highgate Hill. By 1494 the Hornsey Road/Holloway Road corner was called Ring Cross. It was an execution site and the cross may have been a boundary marker of the Knights of Saint John.

Edward I via wikimedia commons

[This is a very lazy post. I've drawn almost all of it from British History Online. In my defence, research libraries tend not to welcome nine month olds. I can't think why. Doubt he'd chew up more than a dozen books per afternoon.]

Alfred Vodna's Andover Report

I've lifted this from the comments. Do you agree?

'What is there to report? Bar someone setting off fireworks at 3am for about 5 minutes last night there isn't much going on bar the trouble making gangs that hang out in the middle of the estate - making it not a very safe place to be after dark. Growing up there in the early 90's, bar it's notorious reputation it was an extremely happy place for me. I knew every single one of my neighbours on my part of the estate, hung around with their kids, had dinner with them, played throughout the estate (the football pitch in particular) until I was so dirty and tired I couldn’t possibly stay out any longer. I remember one summer in particular and it was the summer of Euro '96 and the place was absolutely buzzing, flags out of windows, music pumping during the day, kids running about having water fights, BBQ's... Now with everything fenced off for security and safety reasons the place has lost its heartbeat I once used to feel being there, I know these were meant for a safer environment, which I fully agree on but it's just lost its soul - I only have a few neighbours that actually stop and say Hi now - neighbours come and go – some keep themselves to themselves, the ‘lifers’ as we called them have left, people dump their waste on their own doorstep, gangs hide in the dark.... I have lived there for almost 30 years and have recently just had a child of my own and (not that I'd feel safe letting them play in the estate.. ever) would never imagine them having the same experience in the estate as I did. It’s not all doom and gloom , I’ve never really had any trouble living there. I do have some great memories of how it once was but there is definitely no love pumping through its veins.'

Have a Hornsey Road Christmas (presents)

Forget Oxford Street and Posh Islington. Amaze your family and friends by doing the Christmas shopping on the Hornsey Road.

The Match Day has everything for the Apartment Therapy reading Arsenal fan:

Arsenal's The Armoury if you're buying for new parents or to undermine Spurs-supporting relatives:

Look! Matching

outfits.

Lioness on 159 (post coming shortly) sells, amongst other things, the kind of T-shirt that Topshop tries and fails to copy:

 

Bobby Joe's  ukeleles for the godchildren. Hipstery without being wankerish and easy to learn. Also, cute.

Organic Stall. Lovely things  from the local soap makers and ace mince pies:

Atlas World of Birds because your cat is worth it:

The African jewelery/bag pop-up at 336-8 because shiny:

Clever Mike for anyone special enough to deserve a very very beautiful bike. Statue not included:

Done. Now go for a beer at the Shaftesbury

p.s. If that isn't enough, try Stroud Green Road. Italian Farmers Deli, Jack's, Hettie Holland and Concept should sort you out.

Organic Change

Setting up business on the Hornsey Road Home of Blight is always a brave move, but the Organic Stall seems to be doing reasonably well. They're now selling pies. I approve of shops that sell pies. The lack of pies is one of the may ways in which the South is less civilised than the North. Even butchers here think they they can get away with being pie-less. There should be a law. The 'Pastry Enforcement Act 2014'. It could also tackle the scourge of pubs where 'pie' turns out to be a limp blanket of pastry over stew. IT IS NOT A PIE IF THERE IS NOT A PASTRY BASE.

Anyway. Kay now wants to change things and make the store into a community shop. To get there he needs 150 people to sign up a £6.99 direct debit per month (no cancellation period). To start with he'd use the money to buy a fridge, then he'd use it to lower prices. Then (and this is where it gets interesting) he'd be able to hire some help, spend more time sourcing products, negotiating with suppliers, doing events and suchlike.

Go talk to him about it. It's early days, but like Hubbub or the People's Supermarket it's the kind of idea that might give the high street strength.