Third despatch from the parallel baby world. This one is about something hard to find and worth finding.
The toys in the photograph are in a large, well-lit room. Pan out and you'd see playthings for slightly older children: china teacups, buckets and water to fill them with, plastic motorbikes made wide and squat enough for toddlers.
Look around and as well as the children and their parents/carers you'd also see three or four other adults, a mix of psychologists and other childcare professionals. They're all easy to talk to and it's interesting to see them interact with the children, letting them take the lead and shape their own play.
They're here because of her:
Francoise Dolto was a psychoanalyst who did many things, but what she's most remembered for is setting up 'green houses', places for children to explore the world outside their homes and for parents to have a reprieve from being alone with their children. De Gaulle and Andre Malraux (culture minister & the man who saved medieval Paris) got involved and the idea spread to St Petersburg and Barcelona, Belgium and Argentina.
And now they're here.
It's in the 'community rooms of Finsbury Park community hub N7 7RW'. This translates as the other side of Durham Road from Poole's Park primary school, just inside the Andover Estate. Here's the outside:
Trust me, it's worth going in.
Did you see there's a new nursery opened on Hornsey Rd by Spears Road here on the map, not to mention a shiny new Ashmount Primary School and nursery hidden in the woods at the top of the hill here. Are there lots of new babies in the area?
ReplyDeleteHi Harry,
DeleteYes, I saw it. We're not in the nursery market yet so I haven't explored it, but I have heard that there's a baby boom - more kids born and more people staying round here when they have kids.
ReplyDeleteAmazing. Have lived on the Andover all my life and yet did not know about this. Can I just say I absolutely love you blog. I have lived on Hornsey Road all of my life and love seeing such wonderful stories and pictures of places so close to home, such a wonderful insight on things you'd just usually take for granted. Thank you and I am looking forward to many more stories.... Wonder if they'll be a piece on the new little stall that's opened in one of the off-licence (not Supersaver, the larger one by the organic shop) that has opened and is selling African type jewellery...
Thank you Alfred. That's very kind and it's exactly what I hoped this blog would do. I've just been by the stall and tweeted about it (@thehornseyroad) because I thought that was more useful than a blog, given that they're only there for a few days, but I hope to go talk to the lady behind it soon. Tell me more about life on the Andover...
DeleteHi,
DeleteWhat 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.
Thanks
Would you mind if I used that last comment of yours as a post? It's way too good to stay a comment.
DeleteBe my guest!
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIt has been some time since I visited website with such high quality information about regarding .Thank you so much for providing such helpful information dave burke
ReplyDelete