1. I didn’t feel too hot on 1^st November, so I gave Junction Jazz at the Bread & Roses a miss (I gather the band was good), but did feel well enough on the 2^nd to go to the Councillors’ Surgery at Battersea Park Library. Saturday mornings at the surgery can be a very peaceful time, simply reading the papers, but not this time. As usual, the cases were about housing issues, about wanting a transfer or the conditions in rental properties. It can be depressing listening, but I do follow them up and, from time to time, really do resolve the problems.
   

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2. I discovered one victory this month quite by chance. I was doing my normal monthly tour of the ward, including a walk down Anhalt Road, a quiet road near the Park. On my last visit there I came across this trip hazard on the left, created by an aggressive tree root. Now the Council has doctored the tree and re-surfaced the pavement and it is no longer the very serious hazard it was. A small triumph perhaps but mine own!
   

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3. On 4^th November I had a Battersea United Charities (BUC) meeting at the main Battersea Library. Nothing particularly momentous happened but it is worth noting the existence of this small body, which distributes small grants to individuals and/or organisations that live, work or play in Battersea. For example, BUC gives financial assistance to other charities that organise Xmas Day Dinners; or to Providence House to help fund summer schemes for Battersea’s younger people; or to families that have hit hard times and who need carpets, furniture, ovens, fridges, etc. The Chair of BUC is Phil Beddows, once a Tory councillor, but don’t hold that against him too much. For a long time now Philip has been a passionate Battersea boy and has given hours of his time to the charity.
   

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4. On 5^th November I did not go to a fireworks display but went instead to Wandsworth Council’s Civic Awards. At this annual event, the Council praises and appreciates people, who have contributed their time and efforts to support the community. The Labour administration has added some new features, such as video descriptions of the award winners at work rather than the previous over-long reading of their commendations. One of the stars of the evening was Gonçalo da Cal Martins, Wandsworth’s Young Musician of the Year 2024, who played a beautiful violin concerto.
   

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5. I went to the Armistice Day Commemoration Service in St. Mary’s on Sunday 10^th November, and then on the 11^th itself, I went to the service in Battersea Park. I always find the open-air service the more moving of the two. The late autumn weather is very appropriate and the sound of the lone bugle playing The Last Post followed by Reveille almost haunting. The only blemish, of course, is that the Park was right under the day’s flight path into Heathrow! The picture is of our MP, Marsha de Cordova, walking away from the monument having just laid a wreath.
   

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6. Pen was due to present a paper at a small conference in Antwerp on 14^th-15^th November, so I decided, more or less at the last minute, to accompany her. We stayed in the centre of the city from 13^th-17^th. It was magnificent. Why has everyone kept so quiet about Antwerp? It is certainly the largest city within easy reach of London that I have never been to, and it is only just over 4 hours away, from door to door, by Eurostar. The city centre is substantially traffic free, so it is a pedestrians’ delight and the trams work like a dream. It is very lively, and very cosmopolitan. Belgium’s colonial record was not good – to say the least – and Belgians are very conscious of that, but one result is that it has made Antwerp a culinary delight. It includes African, Caribbean and Indo-Malaysian food of every kind and, of course, some say that the best French cuisine is actually Belgian. Added to that, the many museums and art galleries are replete with works by the three Breughels, Reubens, Van Dyck, and countless other Flemish masters. We had a great time – Oh, and Pen said the conference wasn’t bad either (which is English for a great success). The picture shows part of the Grote Markt.
   

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7. The Transport Committee on 19^th November was quiet and uncontentious but full of interesting matters, not least the extended hours of operation of the controlled parking zone (CPZ) around Battersea Park. The residents had campaigned for the extended hours since before the opening of the Power Station, but that had been the final straw. Other matters of interest were:-

• The competition to design the transformation of the Falcon Road railway bridge – probably the worst environment in the Borough – which effectively cuts north Battersea off from Clapham Junction and will hopefully be completed by late 2025;
• more new school streets; and
• amendments to the Borough Plan designed to encourage the development of more affordable housing.
  

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8. I chaired the Planning Applications Committee (PAC) on 20^th We approved five applications:-

• three, which in total amounted to some 50 residential units, as part of our 1,000 homes project – odd how it is that everyone thinks that we ought to build more homes at affordable prices but no one wants them built next door – am I being cynical, or jaundiced?
• one, which involves the total demolition of a terraced Battersea house – except the front wall – and the construction of a modern house in its place. No one on the committee liked it but one does not need permission to demolish property unless it is either listed or in a conservation area – and we could hardly refuse permission for replacing it with a modern version.
• the fifth was a technical change to a previous planning approval.
  

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9. Prezza, aka John Prescott, died on 21^st November, and with him, some people argue, an old-style Labour brand. I do not know about that, but I do have one very clear memory of him. I was sitting at home one Saturday afternoon watching one of the autumn rugby internationals. The year was 1997 and Labour had stormed into power on 1^st May.
   

        Prezza determined to get           between Blair and Brown    

   I was the Leader of Wandsworth Labour councillors and had recently written an angry letter to John, the Deputy Prime Minister, protesting that he had recently walked around Battersea Park with Wandsworth’s Tory leadership without informing anyone in Wandsworth’s Labour Party, and that despite John making improved communications between the Government and Labour councillors a major theme. I didn’t expect anything other than a formal civil service acknowledgement.

   The phone rang, “on my way to Heathrow and the Kyoto climate change conference”, John spat out, “thought I’d give you a ring about the Battersea Park event”. I was so surprised that I do not recall the rest of the conversation, but I do remember that I could not make sense of the syntax, nor of some of his sentences. But I do remember the meaning, the apology, and the thought that Prezza made a point of ringing me, whilst he was on the way to being a prime mover at one of the world’s most important ever conferences.

   I much appreciated the thought then and have done ever more so since.

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10. The 22^nd of November was the night of the Battersea Ball held in the Battersea Park British Genius site. This is always a noisy, showy, fun event, held to fund the Battersea Summer Scheme for Battersea youth. Pen and I usually go, and often get caught pretending to be training for Strictly!
    

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11. I have just heard of the death of Battersea Labour Party member, Timothy West, earlier in November. Timothy and Prunella have been substantial supporters of BLP for many years and have played their part in several revues that BLP staged at Battersea Arts Centre. I will say more about Tim in next month’s newsletter, meanwhile RIP Tim.
    

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12. And other news about Battersea and Wandsworth:

• The Council plans to update the Latchmere Estate playspace and is asking users and residents to get involved in its design. Do get in touch if you are interested.
• Battersea Park Rotary asked me to remind pensioners about Rotary’s Xmas Day special – contact Senia Dedic (seniadedic@hotmail.com) for details.
  

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My December Programme

1. I have a meeting of North-East Surrey Crematorium Board on 3^rd The members are the London Boroughs of Merton, Sutton and Wandsworth, so it should more accurately be called the South-West London Crem.
2. On 5^th December, I am having Xmas Lunch with the soccer team I played with in the 60s-80s – always nostalgic, “remember that goal Prodg scored” days.
3. On 11^th December, we have the last full Council Meeting of the year.
4. December’s meeting of the Planning Applications Committee is on the 12^th and much of the rest of the month is standard stuff, Christmas Carols, eating and drinking too much. I hope that you have a great Christmas too.
   

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Did you know?

Last month I asked who was “an Irish Protestant dramatist, clearly torn between both his Irish and British heritages in that he was at once an Irish Republican and a British patriot, this socialist born in North Dublin spent many of his later years in Prince of Wales Drive, Battersea. Who was he and can you name his most famous play, and even one other of his works?”

Not quite do many correct answers as about Bob Marley and Spurs, but some knew about Sean O’Casey and his most famous play Juno and the Paycock. There is a plaque on the wall of 49 Overstrand Mansions, Prince of Wales Mansions.

And this month?

Born in Cheltenham, became a Bachelor of Medicine at St. George’s Hospital, met his wife in Caius House, Battersea, where he did missionary work in the worst of Battersea slums, has a plaque in Battersea Square. He died, a peculiarly British heroic death 10,000 miles from home and he looked like this. Who was he?