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Swiss Cottage Leisure Centre - London NW3

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 03:55:47 +0100

Swiss Cottage Leisure Centre in the London Borough of Camden provides a range of leisure activities for all ages and abilities. Situated in a large, well-lit and extremely modern building in Adelaide Road close to the Hampstead Theatre and Swiss Cottage Library. Swiss Cottage Leisure Centre is now recognised as one of the tbest leisure centres in London and is therefore an extremely popular choice for gym goers in the North West London Area.

The leisure facilities include a 25 metre swimming pool, a 20 metre training pool, a 170 station fitness centre, 2 group exercise studios, a 4 court sports hall suitable for basketball, volleyball, netball, badminton and trampolining, a climbing wall, squash courts, a soft play zone, a cafe, 5 treatment rooms, sauna and steam rooms for men and women, outdoor 7 a side astro turf, meeting room.

The Swiss Cottage Leisure Centre offers 'Women Only Sessions' which are designed to allow women of all ages to exercise and relax in a calming and relaxed environment. Facilities for climbing enthusiasts are few and far between in London. The new climbing wall dominates an entire wall of the centre.

The Swiss Cottage Leisure Centre is a great community sports facility for the people of north London to run, swim or kick off their excess energy. The Leisure Centre is situated in Adelaide Road, London NW3 3NF and is open Mon-Fri 6.30am-10pm and Sat-Sun 8am-6pm. Follow the link to contact Swiss Cottage leisure centre

From the London Underground you can get to the Leisure Centre by foot (3 minutes) from Swiss Cottage Tube Station on the Jubilee Line. There is also car meter parking between the hours of 8.30am and 6.30pm.

Race for Life - Hampstead & Regents Park

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 01:37:57 +0100

Race For Life is the largest women-only fundraising event in the UK. Since 1994, women of all ages and fitness levels across the UK have come together at these inspiring events to walk, jog or run to help beat cancer.

Cancer Research UK is the world's leading charity dedicated to beating cancer through research. Their groundbreaking work in finding new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer has saved millions of lives and they fund research into many aspects of cancer through the work of more than 4,000 scientists, doctors and nurses across the UK.

To date, over six million women have raised over £457 million for Cancer Research UKs life-saving work and runners in North West London will be running to raise even more money this summer with race events planned for Hampstead Heath and Regents Park.

Some Race for Life women take part in celebration of surviving a cancer experience. Others take part in memory of a loved one or to give hope to a cancer-free future. But all share a common goal: to raise money for Cancer Research UK's groundbreaking work and to help save more lives. Cancer Research UK is entirely funded by the public and needs support to continue to make progress and give hope to people affected by cancer.

Cancer Research Race For Life Events in North West London

Be part of the biggest fight against cancer at Race for Life events in North West London this summer and walk, jog or run to help beat cancer. Enter now and raise money for the groundbreaking work that has saved millions of lives.

Hampstead Heath Race For Life is a 5k race on Hampstead Heath starting at East Heath Road, Hampstead,
London, NW3 1BP on Sat 9 June 2012 at 11:00. Follow the link for more information on the Hampstead Heath Race For Life

Regent's Park Race For Life is a 5k race in Regents Park starting at Chester Road, London, NW1 4NR on Sat 14 Jul 2012 at 11:00. Follow the link for more information on the Regent's Park Race For Life

Or follow this link to enter your local Race for Life event in other London locations and in areas throughout the UK

Hampstead Heath - Conservation & Wildlife

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 21:21:51 +0100

Hampstead Heath in North West London comprises a mix of grassland, woodland, scrub, hedgerows, ponds and wetland habitats, with remnant areas of the original heathland habitat. There are over 800 identified veteran trees and over 30 ponds on Hampstead Heath ranging in size and character.

The City of London's dedicated conservation staff aim to maintain and extend the Heath's status as one of London's best places for wildlife and Hampstead Heath features a number of priority species identified in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan, including lesser spotted woodpecker, bullfinch, stag beetle and grass snake.

Hampstead Heath is in fact home to over 350 spieces of fungi, 23 species of butterfly, 6 speices of grasshopper and 17 species of dragonfly. Moles, foxes, hedgehogs and occasional muntjac deer are other mammals can be found living on the Heath. 180 bird species have been spotted by bird watchers on Hampstead Heath and the area is renowned as one of the best places to see bats in London

Wildlife & Birds on Hampstead Heath

For seasonal wildlife and conservation updates on Hampstead Heath go to the Wildlife Heath Happenings page for an informal but up to date insight into conservation issues, ecological projects and wildlife sightings on Hampstead Heath. Ornithologists, twitchers or bird watchers who want to keep up with the latest Hampstead Heath bird sightings can visit the London Bird Club web pages

Hampstead Heath Reptile Survey

LEHART (the London, Essex and Hertfordshire Amphibian & Reptile Trust) are surveying the population of rare grass snakes to help work out how best to conserve them. If you have seen a snake (or any other reptile) on Hampstead Heath, please tell them more about it by either filling in the Hampstead Heath Reptile Sightings Form or by writing to them at The Ecologist, City of London, Heathfield House, 432 Archway Road, London N6 4JH

Hampstead Estate Agents on Jazz FM

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 11:24:09 +0100

Business shakers shaping the world of business - founder and chief executive of Paramount Properties, Mark Greig is an estate agent you actually might like. Paramount Properties are well known on many streets around North West London and online if you are one of the 60,000 people who click on to Paramount's estate agent websites every single month.

Mark, what made you realise you wanted to set up your own business?

Having worked for 2 or 3 other estate agencies and picking up different ideas of what was missing from those property businesses, I thought I could do it better myself, they were missing out, I brought together the slightly different ethoss to produce a better something for the foundation of a new business.

We covered everything possible on every sale, leaving no stone unturned, using everything available, speaking to everybody you possibly could, using all modern methods of marketing, using anything that could put us ahead of the competition.

And how did you find people who believe in the same things as you do. That must be quite tough I imagine, because you strike me as somebody who is clear on what they think?

I normally interview anybody who wants to come and see me. Some of the best people I have ever had coming to work for me, I was not actually looking at the time when they came to see me, but after I met them I decided that I had to have them working in the office and 9/10 turned out to be exceptionally good, or key people within the organisation.

How do you get that in an interview?

Try to make them feel at ease, to get answers they didnt know they were going to tell me before they came in. I look for that something in somebody. I need them to be loyal, because we invest a lot of time and effort on our staff; mentors and life councillors come in every month to 3 months to sit down with them. I think its important for people to know where they are in their career....Its important for people to feel they can know where they are going in their career, know they can move forward, know what their part is and what they can aim for over the next 12 months. This makes them more content in their job and more successful for themselves and for the company.

5 businesses, £5million turnover. Pretty Impressive Mark?

Weve been going 23 years on 5th June. Customer service is vital. The internet was an enormous change. It meant there were more portals taking a fundamental role in marketing. What is essential is for an agent to offer top customer service. We all know nobody wants to go to telephone switch boards, nobody wants to deal with customer services in a far off country where they dont feel they are getting customer service.

There has recently been a website launched called All Agents, and Im very fortunate that my staff have taken to it and weve been voted number 1 out of 16,600 agents in terms of customer service across the entire UK and I would always encourage anybody who is buying, selling, renting or letting a property to go to All Agents to see what they should expect from an agent prior to giving them their business.

What do they say about the company?

I think it comes down to the fact that we give a good customer service, give the right answers, look into things for them and this comes from having a long standing loyal staff that know the area, know their business well; they are all either ARLA qualified or NAEA, which seta us already apart from most other agencies and when they are asked a question they know the answer. I would encourage anyone to go to our site or All Agents to read the wonderful things our customers have said about us- unlike many other awards, these are judged by our customers, the general public and this is the thing that sets us aside from many of our competition.

Not just an insight into why Mark Grieg is our business shaker, also some genuinely useful information about what to do next when you are buying, letting or renting a place. Mark, this is a successful business. That doesnt just happen. You, I imagine have overcome some pretty big obstacles on the way to creating this successful business?

Well, we opened the business in 1989 which was the start of the last big recession

Great timing

Yeah of course, but it seemed right at the time and in retrospect it was the best time to start a business in a far worse recession financially in terms of property value. We saw central London come off as much as 50 % for 4 years. We had interest rates of 12, 13 14% and most people I spoke to thought we were completely nuts, starting a business selling investment in development stock at that time. On our first day we were in the office at 6.30, we agreed a deal on our first morning. We had a buyer with his lawyer, a deposit cheque, on the way to the vendors office to sign the contract, and we lost our first deal....knocked us on our backsides a little bit. Thats what I think separates people, to get back up, dust themselves off and get back on with it.

It was a very tough time in the market, most of our clients were struggling, we found it very hard to generate any interest in anything at all and then one day I was at an auction and I bumped into somebody I met 3 years before, skiing, who asked me if I was aware of a portfolio of 39 flats, told me who the owners were. I approached them, showed him the flats the next day. The day after we went with his lawyer and took a deposit cheque to the vendors lawyers, sat there, went through contracts and exchanged contracts. Quite a turning point in the business to be honest with you. We went from probably trading insovlently, although I did not know what it meant at the time, into drinking champagne and feeling very good about what we were doing with the business.

And the lesson in that is....for someone listening now thinking that sounds hard?

Well it proves that its not over until its over. The other thing which we always stand under the banner of is Time kills Deals. We invented this thing called an attended exchange which gave certainty to both the buyer and the seller that a deal was going to take place - if you can call somebody up and say I have got somebody that wants to come round this afternoon, put a cheque on the table, look through the paperwork and sign the contract, it shows good faith on the part of the buyer and many of our deals over the past 23 years have happened in this way. In fact, our quickest deal came from instruction to change of contracts is 30 minutes which I think is a possible industry record. Even shorter than this programme.

This attended exchange was a new thing?

Yes its a new thing. We called it the attended and probably 50% of the deals that we did over the first 15-20 years were done in this way. Literally with a buyer, his lawyer and a deposit cheque, going and sitting in the vendors lawyers office, going through the paperwork, and signing the contract. Its the same paperwork that will go backwards and forwards over the 2 week period of time. Its all in one room, you look at it, youre happy with it, you put your cheque down sign the contract and the deals done.

And it was all about time killing deals so you said we will turn time upside down?

Absolutely

Good idea. Mark Grieg, our business shaker this evening.Mark, over your career, an illustrious career so far, Im sure theres more to come, what sort of people have influenced you? What have they said that sticks as good advice?

Some of my parents friends were influential in trying to get me to go into property- when I was a teenager I didnt really know what I wanted to do in terms of a career and they pointed me in the right direction and thought it could give me unlimited opportunity because the business is as wide as it is broad. I started at 17, first career and along the way, met people and saw, hey you know, how much success you could generate from trying hard and being dedicated in a business. For some of the managers and owners I worked for taught me that running a business was about making a profit- its all very well running a business that looks great on the outside, but the bottom line is it had to make a profit, and that is something I look at on a monthly basis; where we are; what the costs are. I try in turn to instil this into each of the directors of one of the companies.

Those people that work for you, those directors, they stay loyal. Why? What magic things do you say to them on a daily basis Mark?

They are part of a company that is going forward. Theyve been made directors and I make it quite clear, they could always go and start their own business. But it is easier to take over a company thats turning over a million pounds and turn it into a £3 million pound company...or is it easier to take a company with zero turnover and turn it into a company turning over £1 Million.

So I like to mentor my staff on a regular basis through from the secretarial admin side, who are just as valuable to the business, if theyre fulfilling their roles properly, through to the directors. I meet them all regularly, I like to know whats going on in their lives. My door is always open for anybody to come and speak to me, and then take to opportunity to come and say I know things arent going well this month. Can you help me And I always like to sit them down, give them advice and turn it round for them.

Everybody is entitled to have 1 bad month a year. To be totally focussed for 12 months of the year is an impossibility. Things happen in their personal life, work life. Sometimes a number of deals will go wrong in a row and it can knock the stuffing out of them a little bit. But its important for them to realise that the good times will follow the bad, and if theyre having a bad time they are probably even closer to having their next run of good.

You sound like a nice boss. This is Mark Grieg, my business shaker for this evening.60,000 hits on his shop window online. You talked about how you set up the business in an incredibly difficult time, 1989. Its not much different now. What would your advice be to a budding entrepreneur?

Just go for it. If you have decided that now is your time, youve got a good idea, you want to set yourself slightly aside from what everybody else is doing... and its very easy to come up with a good idea and let it sit around and slowly talk yourself out of it...If youve got a good idea for a good business, whether its in property or anything else, it defines your true character, by getting up and going forward with the idea.....many people come up with great ideas and do nothing.

So your thing is action- just do it.

Absolutely. And you have to give 100%. To fail at something having given it 100%, you have given your best. Give something 70% and it fails, you never know whether you could have made it a success.

Now is a very tricky time to be in the property business, and you talk to me about your innovative approach, attended exchanges. What are you doing now to shape the world of property, to ensure that you are still going to be a brilliantly successful business?

Well, to be honest with you, most people are unable to spot the next collapse in the market, or the next boom. But I feel that it is cyclical and I think weve gone through the bottom of the cycle and Im actually predicting that the next 7-9 years will e very strong in property.

The London Market is without doubt picking up, theres a lot of foreign money coming in, whether its because we are not part of the euro, but theres a lot of money coming into London and about apartments being sold in Hong Kong every weekend, on stuff thats not going to be built for another 2 or 3 years, theres a lot of money coming from all around the world into the London market, and there is a shortage of property already here, and I predict that we are going to see price growth in London, which tends to lead to the entire UK, so in 2 or 3 years I think the growth in London will go to the rest of the UK.

So you say remain optimistic and confident and take those opportunities?

I would say now is a very good time to buy. I think...

But you would say that wouldnt you?

I think in a years time, people will say they missed the boat.

Fix My Street Please!

Fri, 04 Feb 2011 10:18:58 +0000

Have you ever wanted to report a problem in your area but don't know who to contact? Have you spent ages on the phone trying to speak to someone at your local council? If so, this website is for you.

The charity mysociety.org in conjunction with Young Foundation launched fixmystreet.com in 2007 and provides residents with a quick and easy way of reporting things in their area that are broken, dirty, damaged, dumped, needs fixing, cleaning or clearing.

To use the site, all you just need to enter your postcode or location, and then you can view problems already reported in your area, or report your own by clicking your location on the map provided.

All reported problem will be sent to the relevant council by email. The council can then resolve the problem through their normal procedure. Local residents are also able to discuss the problem with others on the website by providing an update.

Please visit the website for further information, to sign up for alerts or to start reporting your problems.

Popdance classes to be held at Swiss Cottage Community Center

Sat, 16 Oct 2010 14:15:02 +0100

Swiss cottage Community Centre hosts 'Popdance', a great dance class specially designed for adults on Monday's at 11am. The class was created to combine a fun filled dance class where adults of all ages and abilities can learn dance routines to pop music, allowing you to let loose from the stresses of life and have some fun. Popdance classes are held all over the country and are launching in our very own Swiss Cottage on 3rd November.

They offer a pressure free, relaxed and friendly environment where you can hone in on your skills. The routines are all tought over 4 sessions to allow everyone in the class learn at their own pace. They often hold one off events such as 'Baby Loves Disco' - an afternoon for the boogying babies and toddlers to have their fun!

The first 'taster class' is free of charge. There are popdance classes all over the UK waiting to get you boogying to the latest pop tunes! And just in time to get you ready for that all important Christmas party...

Go green Camden increasing number of green roofs by 2012

Sat, 16 Oct 2010 13:31:06 +0100

NW6 is set to be a part of Mayor Boris Johnson's Climate Change Adaptation Strategy. We are joined by other London Borough's including the majority of Westminster and the inner parts of Camden, Southwark and Kensington and Chelsea - all of which have been required to build a new green roof. This does not only support the worlds 'go green' campaign but may also reduce fuel bills by providing effective heat insulation on the roof and possibility minimising sound.

There has already been two of these new roofs installed at the Webheath estate in Hampstead in 2009 and more in line to join Boris's Strategy. The London Borough of Camden has endeavored to substantially increase the existing number by 2012.

South Hampstead's current contribution to this scheme is already in progress on Rowley Lane. Many other similar schemes are already in early stages through out the borough.

Camden's 'Environmental Sustainability Delivery Plan' which commits to protect the environment and develop a more sustainable future for the borough. They promise to strive to help residents and businesses alike do what they can to reduce environmentally harmful actions and contribute to the scheme.

These steps do not only just support the worlds 'go green' campaign and the 'World Green Roof Congress' but may also reduce fuel bills by providing effective heat insulation on the roof and possibility minimising sound. The new roofs can also act as a coolant in the hot weather possibly making air-conditioning bills lower.

Belsize Park opens the doors to its new Post Office!

Fri, 15 Oct 2010 17:31:30 +0100

After six years of campaigning...A new Post Office has opened in Belsize Park! The champagne was flowing as Locals celebrated the opening.

After the closure of Haverstock Hill, Belsize Village and Englands Lane Post Offices, the accessibility of a nearby Post Office has effected many residents. Locals are being encouraged to show their support as it is only open for a trial period and Camden Council has funded the start up costs for the of around £7,200.

Residents are confident that there is, and will continue to be, a sufficient demand for service and that the Post Office will be a huge success. The late night counter service "Essentials" is open from 7am until 11pm in Budgens Supermarket on Haverstock Hill. Customers will be able to access a range of different services including travel services, government services, bill payments, banking and mailing.

West Hampstead Thameslink Station is being given a make over!

Thu, 14 Oct 2010 16:41:05 +0100

Preparatory work has started in building a new West Hampstead Thameslink station and revival of the surrounding area, in a project which is part of Camden Councils "Place Shaping Strategy". The strategy involves making significant improvements in order to make West Hampstead a more pleasant and enjoyable place to live, work and visit. The building of a new station and associated improvements are funded jointly by the council and Network Rail as part of its £5.5bn Thameslink program, the aim of which is to massively increase the capacity of passengers on north-south services through London, and to improve the interchanges within the West Hampstead Underground and Overground stations and ease congestion across routes.

Network Rail say that after improvements the station will be a brighter and safer place, more equipped to handle the extra passengers. The station itself will be built with a "living roof" living as it will be planted with flowering sedum plants, making the view from surrounding offices and residential premises attractive and visually appealing.

On Iverson Road the pedestrian crossing will be improved to make it easier for people to cross the street, and the pavements are being widened for safety and extra space for pedestrians. The space along the footpaths will be landscaped into a tree-lined walkway, as well as new cycle racks which will be incorporated making the area more pleasant and in keeping with the new "green" station.

More passengers are expected to travel in the Thameslink as new longer trains are introduced in 2015, changing them from 8 carriages to 12. A new foot bridge will be installed in preperation, allowing easier access to all platforms. The platforms at the Thameslink station are being extended and should complete by the end of 2010, beginning of 2011.

Will retail giant Sainsburys take the place of the closed down mini market on West End Lane?

Tue, 28 Sep 2010 11:27:35 +0100

This is a question which has become significant in the last few weeks, and a lot of people would like to know the answer too. There has recently been an application for a licence made by Sainsbury's to Camden Council, which, if it is successful, will mean that they could open a store at 204 West End Lane, West Hampstead, in the place of closed down store "best-one".

To many who live in West Hampstead, the mini market "Best-One" which was open 24 hours was an iconic feature of quirky West Hampstead. It made up part of the character of West End Lane, as well as the other many independent shops. However although people may enjoy this ideal, the reality is that in recent years many more people have chosen to shop in a chain store, over shopping in a franchise independent store.

Some shop owners down West End Lane report that sales have gone down by as much as 50% since Tesco's opened, and are worried that if a Sainsbury's opens there then they may end up closing due to the competition from both stores. The decision has not yet been made, and we are looking forward to finding out what the store will become.

Willesden Green has their very own homework club!

Tue, 28 Sep 2010 11:08:01 +0100

We all know how important it is for children to learn at least the basic English and Maths skills at a young age, for their development, and to enable them to prosper in these areas in adult life. "Teachus Homework Club" in Willesden, aims to provide essential extra supplement for English and Maths for children who are being educated in Key stage 1, 2 and 3. Homework clubs have been proven to show an improvement to children's grades at school, as they can provide the extra help they may require out of school hours.

The teachers who run the homework club are all from exceptional teaching backgrounds and are all graduates from the top-ten universities across the UK. The teachers aim to focus on educating children at their own ability level, and to give them extra exam practice, ensuring students are tested every 8-10 weeks so that teachers are able to track their progress. The cost per hour for tuition is only £4, and this is paid at the beginning of each lesson. "Teachus Homework Club" takes place every Monday and Thursday throughout the year, in term time only, at The Willesden Green Library Centre, 95 High Road, Willesden.

Ballet takes on Queens Park

Wed, 22 Sep 2010 12:33:02 +0100

From the 15th September to the 8th December 2010 there will be 12x 1 hour Ballet lessons taking place on a Wednesday evening. This is great for adults and who are interested in starting ballet up to intermediate level skills in ballet.

The 6.30-7.30pm session is only for adults who have either no experience or little experience in Ballet and wish to start anew. The 7.30-8.30pm is for adults who have already completed their level 1 and are ready to move on away from the basics of Ballet. Towards the end of the course a short choreographed dance is worked on learning how to dance together as a group.

Stage terminologies are also practiced towards the end of each course. The lessons will take place upstairs, at The Corrib Rest, 76-80 Salusbury Rd, Queens Park, London, NW6 6PA.

Hampstead and Highgate Literary Festival 2010

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 17:22:15 +0100

There are three full days of events and workshops featuring over 70 authors. The Hampstead and Highgate Literary Festival promises a diverse, jam-packed three days of sessions seeing Lynda Bellingham discussing her biography, to Steven Berkoff taking to Trudy Gold about his memoirs, a fiction workshop hosted by Jane Rusbridge and a seminar from Fiona Kirk about diet, nutrition and healthy eating - making it simple!

This is a fantastic chance to get your reading glasses out and set stuck into a fantastic memorandum of events. Some of them take you on walks over Hampstead, giving you a deeper insight to the development of Hampstead and its construction and design over the years. North West London has an amazing architectural history and during this festival you can meet some of the makers of this stunning area.

All events are at Ivy House, 94-96 North End Road, London, NW11 7SX. There are also refreshments here. You can get to Ivy House on the Northern Line (London Underground) to Golders Green and take a 10 minute walk along North End Road. There are two buses that can take you from the station to Ivory House which are the 268 or 210 routes.

The Hampstead and Highgate Literary Festival is organised by the London Jewish Cultural Centre and in association with the Ham&High.