Hillaballoo

One of the activities on Hillaballoo day was this survey, which will inform the possible creation of a local time bank (Telegraph Time). If you didn’t get a chance to do it then, you can do it online here:

http://ourhillsurvey.com/

Well, it wasn’t quite the picnic we were expecting. Several planned activities didn’t happen because of the rain. However, it was really enjoyable and lots of people turned up. The camera obscura was a hit. For photos see the link to Flickr on the right. Upload your own too.  

Please put your comments on this site. Ideas for future events are welcome.  

Here is the final programme for Hillaballoo. You can download it from this link http://www.box.net/shared/kfvt8bk61o

We were a bit worried about the weather earlier, but it looks as if it should be just a bit cloudy, perhaps a bit of a shower in the afternoon, but nothing to put us off!

Please bring donations of art materials (especially card, heavy paper, thick felt pens) - for the art tent.

Useful items to bring include picnic tables, chairs, big umbrellas or tents, plastic sheeting, and a recycling bin or two.

If you are a musician/group and feel confident to do a spot without amplification, you can pitch in following the performance by Nouvelle Croix in mid-afternoon.   

You can help support art activities, such as drawings of clouds and shadows, and the skyline, and portraits of dogs & people.

The event is unfunded, but is costing some money, so there will be a donations box.

Please upload any photos to the Flickr group ‘Telegraph Hill Visions’.

A cloud-spotting or shadow-catching game? A strawberry stall? A giant group poem about the view? A photography challenge? Paint the view? Dress up as the invisible man? Wear a London Eye hat? Levitation? Spinning plates? A seaside-style your-face-in-the-hole portrait? A giant skipping rope? Teach people to do cartwheels? Paint your face? Dress a tree trunk? Let us know…

This is a reminder that Hillaballoo is a Power Party. This means that all steps are taken to reduce its carbon footprint. A party is a great way to get people outside of their many homes, where they would otherwise be boiling kettles, watching TV and playing computer games. See http://powerparties.wordpress.com/ for more information.

The Cafe Orange art group has created its own website to showcase their digital photographs http://www.cafeorangeartgroup.blogspot.com
With their tutors, they are organising demonstrations, an exhibition and a children’s art activity for Hillaballoo. And one of the tutors, Mhari McMullan’s own work can be seen here: http://www.madebymother.blogspot.com

A new contributor has signed up, perfectly suiting the mood of Hillaballoo. Liz Akers from Vesta Road runs a national charity called Team Nice, which has an anti-social behaviour campaign called Niceties Tokens. Liz is planning to run a stall giving away free cakes and with fun games, hoping to get new recruits to Team Nice. Here’s the blurb about Niceties Tokens:Being nice costs nothing, so why is that Londoners so rarely take the time to see and acknowledge the people who share their city? On public transport, in the supermarket, walking down the street, we often hang our heads and avoid eye contact… we can be slow to acknowledge our fellow Londoners as people… just like us…

But we can change, we can make London into the open and friendly city it should be, and that is what Niceties-Tokens is all about.

For more, see http://www.team-nice.co.uk/index.php

I reckon Phil Nice ought to be the first in the queue to join up!

If Hillaballoo inspires you to do more imaginative activity to do with looking at views and the sky, why not pop down to Croydon to see this exhibition this summer. It’s called Seeing Dragons in the Clouds: the art of the imagination. On Wednesdays and Thursdays they have artist-led workshops for children too. Perhaps the theme of the exhibition will inspire you to organise an activity at Hillaballoo (drawing the clouds, seeing found objects as something else…?)

http://www.museumofcroydon.com/ixbin/indexplus?record=ART5695&session=QlMbQxCjdve

Inspiring people are signing up to be interviewed in Inspiration Cafe, taking place in Cafe Orange, and they will be inviting your ideas to help power up their projects.

Cafe Orange also plans demonstrations by their art and craft tutors, as well as exhibitions of digital photography and art, about views of the Hill old and new. They will also organise a children’s activity - chalk drawings of the view.

Around lunchtime, willing volunteers will be asked to grab a rake to help clear the pond in the lower park. When it’s clear as a mirror, we can take a photo of our reflections in the water.

Activities for younger children are to be offered by Oak Hill Nursery.

There will be face painting.

Vanessa is organising a knitting workshop - all ages and levels welcome.

Helen Moore and her band, Nouvelle Croix, have agreed to perform in the afternoon.

The Telegraph Hill Centre will be open and a display about their work put on.

There will be a Name the Landmark competition.

You will be invited to have a go at drawing clouds and shadows.

Help spread the word to people outside the hub of Hill activity. Invite your friends from afar. All welcome. Remember to bring your own sketchpads, cameras, picnics and games, music or activities to share.