Nicky's North London

A representative of Arsenal in the Community has spoken about the positive impact the project has had on people in Islington and the local area.   When asked about the significance of Arsenal's contributions to the local public,  Samir Singh, who has been with the organisation since 2007, said: " We’re a massive disruption to the local community on a match day, so we need to be a good neighbour." Samir continued: " “I’ll give you a good example: men’s health projects, I say this as a man. Stupid men won’t listen to their doctors or their wives but they’ll listen to Arsenal.  "If through our men’s health programme we can help men to lose weight or, to you know, check for prostate cancer, whatever it might be, that’s powerful.” Other forms of support offered by the project include providing children with numeracy and literacy tutoring, visiting hospital patients with players and promoting the inclusion of females in sport.

The Chair of London Met UCU has spoken out on the working conditions and pay of University staff, disputes which have caused strike action across the country in the past few months.  Christina Paine said:   “What we have now is a system where business runs the day, and the demands of business are the things that have led to a lot of the crises that we have.”  “To take strike action for a lecturer is a really, really difficult thing.”  Another contentious issue in the ongoing dispute is the use of zero hours contracts, something which Chirstina believes hinders professional development: "you’re not actually allowed to do research, you’re not allowed to contribute to the rep."  "All of these things that are progressions in career, we’re just not allowed to do." Christina explained:  "We wouldn’t have to take this action unless we absolutely had to, because we’re fighting for a future for you [university students] and for higher education in general.”...

Thousands of Protesters March Through London as University Staff Strike.    The UCU described the day’s events as “historic”.     Thousands of protesters walked along the streets of central London on Wednesday in a protest over pensions, working conditions and pay for university staff.  The University and College Union (UCU) said on Twitter that the demonstration was “Our biggest ever rally”.  The rally began around 1:00 PM at Kings Cross, with former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and UCU general secretary Jo Grady addressing the crowd.  Speaking offstage later, Mr Corbyn said: “We’re here supporting university, college and school teachers on the actions they’re taking to try and get decent wages and proper funding of our education system.” He added: “This is an amazing event of solidarity of so many people looking for a better, fairer society and I’m proud to be part of it”.      Former Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn picture...

The North London Café of 50 Years A Café in Muswell Hill Broadway has reached its 50th anniversary this year.  Jenny's has been serving customers since it first opened in 1972.  The business prides itself on its "All day every day Full English breakfast", in addition to its homemade burgers and soup.  A 20-year-old frequent patron of Jenny's and cyber security student, who wished not to be named,  said of the café: "I can tell you everyone [that] I made try their milkshakes thinks they are some of the best in North London."  " The food is more expensive than most cafes, but it's alright if you want to eat out with friends."

  Hello and Welcome to Nicky's North London.  As you might be able to work out from the site's title, my name is Nicky and the blog is about North London.  At this point in time I don't really know what to write about, and that's kind of awkward actually. To make up for this, I've provided a short film I made about North London a while ago. I hope you like it.