Kentish Town City Farm

One of my favourite things I found in Kentish Town... Kentish Town City Farm.

Here are some photos I took there today. This farm was the first inner city farm to be built in London - since then several more have popped up around the city and I just think it's a really interesting phenomenon. There is such a contrast between the farm and the city surrounding it: a railway track even cuts through the farm itself and I recorded some sound clips there with the mix of bird song and farm animals with the odd train passing through or a siren coming from a nearby street. Really interesting mix between country and city, busy and quiet that to me sort of sums up the diversity and mix up that is London.

I think there are lots of ideas surrounding the farm that could be really interesting: in terms of broadcast I think it works really well visually. I think there are some really interesting stories too - there were some young kids sweeping and stuff who actually work on the farm - they must only have been about 9 and they were so cute telling me all the different jobs they had to do. There is such a good community feel here, there are classes and singalongs run for young children and allotments and gardens with gardening workshops. A real hub of people and hive of positivity.

I thought for broadcast documenting the life of a city farm might be really interesting - you could have footage of the farm (stories of the animals, running of the farm etc...) juxtaposed against inner city footage - maybe showing the homes and lives of the people that work there- they may work on a farm yet perhaps they live in a rough, busy area of London around the corner. Perhaps it could be done as a set of two completely different stories - the farm and maybe another community area close by or in some way linked that showed a completely different side of London for a real contrast.

Why do the parents that bring their children here think it is important for their city children to experience something of country life? (made me think of the Town Mouse, Country Mouse story...) This farm is free for the public so relies on donations and also government subsidies - therefore some of the classes and things for children have had to be cut back - the implications of this could be investigated. There have been many programmes before that document the life of zoos, nature parks, farms etc and animal stories obviously appeal to us as an animal loving nation, but just thought the whole concept of a city farm and a real contrast of urban and rural was an interesting one.

This idea of community ties in with some other things / places I found interesting (more to follow on this blog...) I think the story of the farm would be particularly relevant at the moment - it would be a story of positivity amidst doom and gloom going on in the world. It is a free thing for families to do - so recession friendly. Also it is an example of harking back to traditional values that I think are becoming increasingly prevalent because of the difficult economic climate / troubles going on in the world.

 As well as the gardens and farm itself there are also allotments here. I spotted this little shed that had loads of interesting stuff going on inside- it looked like a real haven and I really wanted to find out who owns it, how they use it etc - could tie in with a whole thing about finding a sanctuary in a city.

This sign made me laugh, but also showed quite well the whole 'city farm' thing. Made me wonder what difficulties there are with trying to maintain a project like this in a city.

Libby

Not-So-Secret Foodies?

I have noticed an emerging trend in my research of Kentish Town: they appear to be a community of not-so-secret foodies. Although this isn't a widely promoted aspect of our area, it is something that keeps popping up. As welovekentishtown.co.uk says "in recent years the increasingly middle class population" may be contributing to the increasing popularity of deli's, restaurants and specialist food suppliers.

• The opening of the Earth whole foods shop in 2006
• the second London branch of Flavours, a specialist delicatessen selling high quality home-baked foods, refreshments and finest quality deli ingredients. 
• The street is also home to two pubs, one being an 1850s hostelry The Leighton, the other The Torriano, which was for many years an old-fashioned community off-licence, and has retained a welcoming "living room" feel since its conversion.
• Resident Giles Coren, restaurant critic

http://www.welovekentishtown.co.uk/area-guide/gallery/110/

Ellie

WE HEART KENTISH TOWN

http://www.welovekentishtown.co.uk/
WE LOVE KENTISH TOWN


What better way to proclaim your utmost admiration for your town than to create a website all about it! Sounds familar guys? Well welovekentishtown.co.uk is THE local website for everything that goes down in Kentish Town. From Be My Baby, baby and toddler competitions, to money off coupons, from area guides to shopping events. The list is endless. This website is going to be key to our secondary research portfolio. 


The website boasts a wealth of historical and cultural knowledge too. I will be working from this while I research tonight but everyone really should check it out!


Ellie

Initial Ideas

Hi everyone... Actually getting really excited about this project so here are some initial ideas I brainstormed today that I thought I would share. I thought it would be good to use this site for all our research and then use it for our pitches next week. I haven't actually been to Kentish Town yet (going to go on Saturday and will take photos / do research to post on here) so hopefully will have much more to say after that, but here were some initial ideas:

Initial ideas:

- people and stories: think it would be good to focus on what makes a community - it's people. Had an idea of profiling different characters within the community so for example there could be 'The Greengrocer', 'The Butcher', 'The Clubber', 'The Artist' etc - this would not only give you a really interesting look at people but through interviewing them you would show different aspects of the area itself. Also this idea of different characters would give fun scope for graphics and visuals.

-  thinking about people and stories I thought about the places you find the most interesting stories: pubs, laundrettes, hair dresser's, beauty salons etc - it could be a little feauture called 'Tales from the Laundrette' or something like that. I was just thinking about real people and real stories, where people meet and chat and finding interesting things in less obvious places - going deep with our research and getting to the real people and their real issues, also getting to a broader scope of people than just people like us

- I thought it would be interesting to talk to estate agents in the area because they would know it really well, also cab drivers and just generally people that live and work in the area. What clubs and meeting places are there?

- viewpoint - especially for broadcast element thought it would be interesting to think about a unique and focused viewpoint (or viewpoints) that could add an original slant on the area, so Kentish Town viewed through the eyes of a specific person / character (this could be anything from a market stall holder to a city fox - anything that is a bit different and would give scope for interesting viewpoint looking at the Kentisth Town THEY see and how it is different for different people)

- A Day / Week in the Life of Kentish Town - just an idea that would really show the life of the area.

-I think one of the key things I picked up on today was that the best ideas from last year were ones with a really clear and concise focus and theme - I think often it can be something really simple (like the night time one we saw) but if we carry it through well and in all areas of our project it can be really effective.

Initial Research

I have just been doing a bit of research on my computer now - obviously nowehere near as good as going there (as I will on Saturday), but found some things to get us started / thinking about....

Nightlife:

The Forum - an old art deco hall that was originally designed as a cinema in 1934, a music venue that has seen the likes of Van Morrison, Radiohead, Prince etc. See http://www.timeout.com/london/venue/8821/the-forum

Bull and Gate Pub - apparently the pre-gig pub for the Forum and a great place to spot unsigned musicians. See http://www.timeout.com/london/venue/704/bull-gate

Oxford pub - See http://www.timeout.com/london/bars/venue/2:4095/oxford

Map Café - a jazz bar, see http://www.mapmusic.net/cafe.php

I thought we should go out in the area as much as we can and just meet people. What is the atmosphere like? In terms of fashion - what are the people wearing when they go out?

Shops

Ace Sports - an old school sports shop open since 1949, it's an independent store so thought maybe we could do something about independent retailers? see http://www.timeout.com/london/shops/venue/2:27581/ace-sports-leisure

Owl Bookshop - an independent bookshop see http://www.timeout.com/london/shops/venue/2:27400/owl-bookshop

Other stuff

Kentish Town City Farm - yes that's right guys, they have a farm! I am extremely excited about this because I have fallen in love with Hackney City Farm where I live, and from my experience there it is a really great community place so we might meet some interesting people there. Also if we were thinking about profiling different characters, how about 'The Farmer' - not what you expect in a magazine about London. How about farmyard fashion?! How do city folk cope with a visit to the farm? Do you throw away your wellies when you move to London?? see http://www.ktcityfarm.org.uk/

Kentish Town Community Centre - thought community centres are great places for meeting people and finding stories - even if it's just from looking at some notice boards there. They have a youth project that I thought might be interesting, plus a gardening project and how about really going for it and joining a class / club there to really find out what Kentish Town and the people there are like?! see http://www.ktcc.org.uk/


In terms of general things I thought it might be a good idea to, after visiting the area individually and sussing it out, seeing what catches our eye etc - to assign different areas of research. So for example some people might be in charge of Kentish Town at night, some might be in charge of Kentish Town at the weekend - to fit around our commitments and mean we each get a really deep understanding of a specific aspect of the area rather than all trying to live and breathe the place despite the fact most of us don't actually live near there! Anyway, just an idea.

That's all for now, these are just things I've come up with today so they might not be amazing but I just wanted to get some ideas out there to get the ball rolling. Really pleased to be working with you guys, definitely think we have a great group :)

Libby

Welcome

Welcome everyone. This is our blog, scrapbook, idea journal, diary, bible, research portfolio, working articles... However you want to describe it, one thing is true: this is our space to write down, copy in and post anything that will, in some way, contribute to the success of our third term project.
So to begin, it would be great to fully sum up the task ahead of us:
Magazine and Visual Communication (Alexia Economou and Sacha Lynch-Robinson)
In this part of the unit we will create a magazine on our assigned area of London; Kentish Town. It will be published for Summer 2011. Must include topical content as well as news. Discuss the area, its history and cultural identity and uniqueness.
Broadcast (Annie Davies)
Research, construct, shoot and edit a half-hour program on our area; Kentish Town. It could be a place, person, trend or political movement. Must be new and different: shock, surprise and astonish. 
Graphic Media and ICT (Anthony Price)
Creating and implementing a house style that spans all areas of our presentation and communication. 
Website (Mark Wells)
Using the visual identity and concept of our publication, we will develop a branding identity that is reflecting in a website to support our application. Must have a navigation plan, and a minimum of 5 pages.


The final hand ins are as follows:
1 magazine

• must include 2 photo editorials and a minimum of 24 pages
• 600 word article EACH
• flat plan
• bibliography of sources
• magazine dummy (thumbnails of each page)

1 30 minute television program

• 30 second trailer
• Edit script
• Running order
• Research File

1 interactive website

• minimum 5 pages
• navigation plan

House Rules

So to avoid any issues or confusion we need to establish some house rules for this website, and for our group as a team of working journalists

1. We are a team, and there is no I in team. Work together and don't back-stab, bitch behind backs or in any way jeopardize the harmony of our team.
2. However, if you feel something isn't working, someone isn't pulling their weight or if you are unhappy with any aspect of the work of team bring this to the teams attention during a meeting. If no meeting is planned, then call one.
3. On the blog, always sign your name at the end of posts, so that we know who has posted. You can just write your initials, or your full name, it's up to you.
4. Credit anything that isn't your own, whether it is a photo from Google, text from a book or ideas from a magazine. Even if it is just inspiration, credit it.
5. Be open, honest and generally a good team player.

So I hope that is a strong enough introduction. We have all exchanged contact details (phone and email) so we should use these to communicate. I would not advise using this space to communication urgent announcements. So bookmark the page, and let's get started!

Ellie