Lilian Fawcett

Hampstead Highgate Express • 7th May 2021

Lockdown easing 'super positive' for West Hampstead shops

Shoppers and shopkeepers alike are feeling positive about the future of West End Lane in West Hampstead as life slowly gets back to normal with lockdown easing.

Most retailers and venues said they had been busy since reopening and had seen a concerted community effort to support independent businesses.

Kim Morris, manager at the popular West End Lane Books, told the Ham&High: “It’s been really busy, everyone has been super positive and really happy to be back in the shop.

“I feel like a lot o

Kilburn Times • 7th May 2021

Cricklewood church appeal following St Vincent volcano eruption

St Gabriel's church is appealing for donations to send to St Vincent and the Grenadines following a volcano eruption - Credit: James Yeates

A Cricklewood church is appealing for food donations following a volcanic eruption in the Caribbean.

St Gabriel's Church, in Walm Lane, is sending aid to St Vincent and the Grenadines where La Soufrière volcano erupted on April 9.

Around 16,000 people have evacuated and been displaced as the volcano continues to stir.

Falling ash and lava flows have dest

Backbench • 6th May 2021

The pandemic: our personal perspectives

It’s been a busy year and a bit for the Backbench editorial team. Nothing could have prepared us for March 2020. Not only was the conversation totally and utterly dominated by COVID-19, but more people than ever were looking to write for us, hoping to cultivate their writing over lockdown. Those first few months of the pandemic went by in a weird blur (that also felt endless at the time). We all made our predictions about post-COVID Britain (anticipating its arrival rather too optimistically) an

Hampstead Highgate Express • 4th May 2021

St John's Wood High Street traders' fears after Harry's closure

After the closure of Harry's, its landlord has said it has offered assistance to its tenants – but neighbouring traders have voiced fears about the High Street's future.

Restaurant and deli Harry Morgan closed last Tuesday after 73 years.

Manager Antonio Franco said landlord Trophaeum Advisors had refused to negotiate on rent reductions or rent holiday, despite lost revenue over the pandemic.

But Tropheaum’s managing director, Matt Farrell, has told the Ham&High this is “definitely not true”.

Hampstead Highgate Express • 30th April 2021

Parents and carers session at free Ham&High mental health event

A charity focused on building resilience will lead a session for parents and carers as part of the free Ham&High: Our Community’s Mental Health event.

Bounce Forward will run Mental Health and My Child, where parents can learn about resilient parenting, helping their children overcome setbacks and navigating uncertainty.

“If we want to teach resilience, we have to model resilient behaviour,” said Elisha Hamilton, project development manager at Bounce Forward.

“The evidence proves that resilie

Hampstead Highgate Express • 29th April 2021

Humour and 'a certain sense of sadness' in actor's short story collection

Author Christopher Owen with his book America Awaits Us, My Lovely and other stories - Credit: Christopher Owen

A local author and actor has published a collection of short stories, spanning the globe, with an underlying theme of loss.

Christopher Owen worked as an actor for 55 years, appearing on television in shows including House of Cards and Sharpe's Honour.

His new collection - America Awaits Us, My Lovely and other stories - is set in London, the West Midlands, France and the US, and wa

Hampstead Highgate Express • 29th April 2021

Humour and 'a certain sense of sadness' in actor's short story collection

Author Christopher Owen with his book America Awaits Us, My Lovely and other stories - Credit: Christopher Owen

A local author and actor has published a collection of short stories, spanning the globe, with an underlying theme of loss.

Christopher Owen worked as an actor for 55 years, appearing on television in shows including House of Cards and Sharpe's Honour.

His new collection - America Awaits Us, My Lovely and other stories - is set in London, the West Midlands, France and the US, and wa

Hampstead Highgate Express • 29th April 2021

Cockapoo and pug inspire Hampstead author's debut children's book

Ruth Craig, author of Enough Is Enough - Credit: Ruth Craig

A Hampstead author and illustrator took inspiration from her pets and the chaos of family life when writing her debut children’s book.

Ruth Craig told the Ham&High that when her four now-teenage children were young, one of her "havens and sanctity and pleasures was reading them stories".

Her rhyming picture book, Enough Is Enough, follows her cockapoo, Cody, who came to the family as a badly-behaved rescue, and her pug Wilma.

“The s

Hampstead Highgate Express • 28th April 2021

St John's Wood teen crowdfunding to follow basketball 'American dream'

Suhayb Choaibi is hoping to go to America to play basketball - Credit: Suhayb Choaibi/Jerome Jack

A teenager from St John’s Wood is hoping public support can propel him on the way to fulfilling his dream of travelling to the US to play basketball.

Suhayb Choaibi, 18, has been offered a spot at a prestigious school in New York, where he hopes to be spotted by a coach and secure a basketball scholarship to an American university.

But first he needs to pay for his trip to Trinity-Pawling School–

Hampstead Highgate Express • 28th April 2021

St John's Wood's famous Harry Morgan restaurant closes

Restaurant and New York City-style deli Harry Morgan has closed its doors for good after 73 years, citing a dispute over rent.

Since the start of the pandemic, Harry's manager Antonio Franco said the restaurant and deli had been closed or trading at just 40% of potential revenue.

“We didn’t decide to close [permanently], it’s a question of a negotiation over rent not going right with the landlord, since last year,” said Antonio.

He said landlord Trophaeum Advisers “doesn’t want to negotiate a