Today, november 2010 ..this was last year ……our college and the nursery with all the staff and students came out to fight for our rights!!! to demonstrate against the building of a massive sewage plant on top of the beautiful scene above – the gardens. We met with Thames Water staff, our local councillors, Simon Hughes MP, Baroness Ludford MEP, local resident. The chief representative from Thames Water spoke very well and was most sympathetic to our views. However unless we do something drastic we will lose this space and not only that, for the next 7 years we will be living on a building site, worse than that – a “vandalised site” . It will be difficult for our children to come and go, the building fumes dust and pollution will not be good for anyone, and we will have constant noise from generators, pneumatic drills, lorries !!!!!!!… just imagine it.

So what’s the answer? What can we do?

• Go to saveksg.com and sign your petition against it.
• Go to the demonstrations with your friends and make your feelings known (check here and on saveksg.com for information).
• Two of the strongest arguments we have are that
  • We have an educational establishment next to the site and that is seen as a negative in “preferring it” according to Thames Water.
  • This is a greenfield site and there are brownfield sites in the area…

So folks if you want the Bosco Centre to still be around in 10, 15 or 20 years time then get cracking and support us. We are here for the community above all the young people and their families – so please support us and sign up to the petition and go to some of the meetings.

As always hopeful to the end… Sr Cecily  I’m not good at blogging but an update a year later …….

January 2012 …..For those who have followed the saga of the King Stairs Gardens and the local community’s fight with the Thames Water and our part in it, we can say that so far we have worked very hard with lots of the community pushing  with a great variety of creative skills to save the Kings Stairs Gardens  – our local park ( see the picture above)  from becoming a “super Sewer”  We are no longer the “preferred site” and,  give them their due, the Thames Water have listened( we think) to our arguments against the “SS” being in our back gardens… and are looking at the viability of another site a ” Brownfield site” …  so the hard work has had good results – two fold  – in keeping Thames WAter working at a better alternative and also knitting the local community together in a solid sociable fashion. Thanks you all concerned who have kept us all going at it. You know who you are and so do we . A big thanks!!! but it’s not over yet  A second consutation has been put out for us to answer and the big difficulty is to keep up our motivation and answer all the questions they have put .. but also to say why it cannot be here.- Nursery  Children, junior children teenagers  all getting the massive polution, the local church community, the local housing  community and those who dearly love the park … the children who play there every Saturday at football and games, those who use the KSG as our “Village Green”  to walk, meet sit and chat with frienda and family, picnic, draw, reflect and get sun tanned  etc….Say no more we have to keep on at it.

Useful Links and More Information

Save King’s Stairs Gardens – http://saveksg.com
Thames Tunnel – http://www.thamestunnelconsultation.co.uk/
Thames Tunnel Consultation Exhibition (Friday 5 November from 9am – 7pm) – http://www.thamestunnelconsultation.co.uk/article.aspx?NID=232
BBC News Residents’ fears over Thames Water’s ‘super-sewer’ plan - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-11803378

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The AGM report is as follows : 

Well I’ve blogged about theKing stairs Gardens, because it is so important to us that the Thames water does not use our “patch” to do its “super sewer” work. You could say we are going on about it, but it does mean that there will be very little chance of a Bosco Centre, really able to do its work if the “Seweer persists…. but enough of that.

We recenly had our Annual General meeeting and a report shopuld be attached. Last years didn’t attached but this one will. It tells of all the things that go on at Bosco and was done by the staff themselves- and some have quite good computer skills. I’m still learning and will be till the day I die- I hope.

On the 31st Of January we will be having our “Don Bosco Day”  don Bosco, the founder of all things Salesian and and the putting of young people at the centre of our lives and commitment.

We are going to have a graduation- not really, but a giving out of certificates… and a celebration…. so all students present and past who feel they have some certificates, awards and qualifications to collect, please get in touch with us – we have an aweful lot of past students qualifications here…. you are all  very welcome to come and “join the celebration” , just let us know beforehand – telephone Sr.Cecily or Romaine  at 0207 232 0440 or mobile 07583 328 275 -  if line busy, please leave a text or a message . Love to see you all – Sr Cecily

I hope you like thefacelift- it’s taken long enough to update . We’ve tried to be chatty where it’s appropriate and serious where it’s appropriate. We haven’t cracked any corny jokes, but tried to make it user fiendly and “comfortable” – a little bit like the staff here at Bosco.

That’s what you should find here – a place where you “feel at home” where you meet friendly people, where we are all learning together, celebrating being alive, and asking questions about what life is all about, and looking for answers together. I hope you enjoy the journey around our new web site. ( I’ve kept this bit in from the last time, because it is still very relevant love to all )

~ Sr Cecily