Baroness Thatcher

The presence of the Chelsea Pensioners at Baroness Thatcher’s funeral at St Paul’s a month ago, reflects the strong connection she had with the Royal Hospital. The Margaret Thatcher Infirmary, which she officially opened in 2009, enabled the wing to admit women for the first time and provide respite care for RN and Air Force veterans, as well as the pensioners. She was a long-standing resident of Chelsea, having bought a house in Flood Street with her husband Denis in 1967 for £27,000, when she was Education Secretary. Her abolition of free school milk earned her the sobriquet ‘Thatcher the Milk Snatcher’, and there was always a posse of press photographers camped outside. She succeeded Edward Heath as Tory party leader in 1975, and it was only a matter of four years before she became Prime Minister and was on her way to Downing Street. They kept the house until ...

Kevin Ayers

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Kevin Ayers who died on 20thFebruary 2013 was, alongside his close friend and collaborator Syd Barrett, the most glamorous of the charismatic sixties’ underground rock stars; like Barrett, Ayers was among the most supremely talented and influential, although perhaps equally famed for their decadent flamboyance and comparative underachievement. Ayers first found fame as the leader along with Robert Wyatt of The Soft Machine whose eponymous first album is the classic ...

Local resident honoured by the Queen for 18 years of voluntary work

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A local resident who has been volunteering at a W11 charity for the last 18 years, has now been awarded with an MBE in the Queen’s honours. Catherine Moss has volunteered at The Rugby Portobello Trust (RPT) since 1994 and manages all of their volunteers (currently standing at 120 people). The charity, which is based in North Kensington works with local young people aged 5 to 25 to help them overcome ...

You're a star! Young buskers launch London's biggest ever street music competition...under the Channel

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Rob da Bank joins musicians at St Pancras International as call goes out for talented groups and soloists aged 11-25 to take part in Gigs – Big Busk Young London musicians are being given a unique opportunity to play live, not just in two countries on the same day, but also under the English Channel, when they help launch plans for Gigs – Big Busk, which is being organised by the ...