Brunswick Life

Great to see this new plane tree planted on the podium of the Brunswick to replace the one that died after its water supply was turned off. Long may this one thrive!

A new evergreen hedge has now been planted along the Marchmont Street side of the Brunswick – a small but welcome addition of greenery. Plenty more virgin concrete on the terraces though.

Camden are consulting on a significant planning application, submitted by the Bangladesh High Commissioner, to erect a statue in the central flower bed of Brunswick Square as a memorial to the ‘Founding Father of Bangladesh’, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

This would be a major change to the character of the gardens, as there have never been any statues in Brunswick Square. The proposed statue is a substantial bonze bust on a concrete and granite plinth, with an overall height of 2.38m, surrounded by a new path and herbaceous flower beds. The High Commissioner believes that the statue will raise the profile of the gardens and attract an increased number of visitors. The Friends of Brunswick Square are seriously concerned about the impact of any statue on the appearance, historic character and atmosphere of the gardens.

What do you think?  You can see the application, drawings and photo-montages of the proposals on the Camden website (thanks to Ricci de Freitas for the link , as the documents are otherwise quite hard to find).  You can post comments either using the online ‘comments’ facility, or by emailing  ppp@camden.gov.uk, quoting the application reference (2011/5956/P) and copying the email to: catherine.bond@camden.gov.uk , the Conservation Officer dealing with the case, by Christmas.

The Brunswick Singers are delighted that they have been chosen as one of the local organisations to which Waitrose will make a donation, depending on how many people vote for them with their green tokens.  So, if you’re shopping in the Bloomsbury Waitrose in November, please consider putting your token in the Brunswick Singing Group box!

We had such an enjoyable time at the Festival this weekend – glorious weather and lots of people out and about in Bloomsbury. I think my favourite event was Poetry under the Arbour,  organised by Faber Academy and Urban Brew, whose installation with doves looked so wonderful last year (though nul points for having a website which requires advanced flash…). Having the opening lines of Eliot’s The Wasteland seemed particularly appropriate. I liked the colourful Den too (see below), created as a backdrop for the Choir with No Name. Lunch was delicious Pumpkin and Chickpea Curry from The People’s Supermarket at the Big Lunch they hosted in Lamb’s Conduit Street.

It was standing room only at the Come and Sing session with the Foundling Community Choir, so I hope we will see some new recruits at rehearsal after half-term, on Monday 31st Oct. Singing in the finale, lead by the excellent trio Voice, was fun, if all too short. The downside was that I didn’t see the dancers from The Place. Were they good?

I’m sure you won’t have missed the fact that the Bloomsbury Festival is happening this weekend, 21st-23rd October. Among the many events, there are two opportunities to hear Brunswick residents sing!

The Brunswick TRA Singing Group will be performing in Lamb Conduit Street on Sunday October 23rd at 2.30 pm, while the Foundling Choir will be leading a Come and Sing! session at SOAS (just off Russell Square) at 3.30pm. Come along and  you will be able to join in the singing at the Festival finale, In Large Numbers, at 5pm in Russell Square Gardens.

And if you miss the Brunswick TRA Singing Group at the Festival, they will also be performing at the St Paul’s Steiner School, Islington on 3 December – more details nearer the time.

Great to see the new garden open beside the Brunswick. Every time I go past I see people sitting enjoying the sun, reading, having a sandwich. A great new public space for us.

Another new delight is the farmers’ market that has started on Thursdays in Torrington Square (beside Birkbeck College) from 9am to 2pm. Lots of excellent stalls, including meat, bread, cakes, fruit and veg, and lots of delicious-smelling take-away food. More information on the  Bloomsbury Farmers Market site. A nice addition to my regular favourite, the People’s Supermarket in Lamb’s Conduit Street, whose fruit and veg selection just gets better and better – new season’s apples, salad from the Calthorpe community garden, and bunches of young carrots were in my latest haul.