June’s Last Friday is Sonora Quartet

We’re delighted to welcome The Sonora Quartet to the library. Formed in 2022, Sonora is composed of four second-year RCM instrumentalists, Maria Noskova, Emily St Clair, Maya de Souza and Alex Boyd-Bench. Very enthusiastic and dedicated to chamber music, they have had coaching sessions and masterclasses with members of the Sacconi, Marmen and Pavel Haas Quartets, as well as with Krysia Osotowicz and Susie Mezaros within RCM; in addition, they have received external coaching at MusicWorks Sundays with Ralph de Souza (from the Endellion Quartet) and Catherine Manson and Michael Gurevich (from the London Haydn Quartet). They have performed at the RCM, St Mary Abbots Church and the Austrian Cultural Forum, and have also been lucky enough to have premiered and performed works written for them by fellow RCM composers, including ‘November’ and ‘Away’ by Asher Joyce and ‘Quiberee Bay’ by Rieko Makita. The Sonora Quartet was amongst three RCM quartets selected to play Van Bree’s Allegro for Four Quartets in RCM’s Super String Sunday 2023 alongside the Alkyona Quartet, and is one of three RCM quartets currently on the RCM String Quartet Platform. Recent repertoire includes Haydn Op.17 No.4 in C minor, Mozart K.428 in Eb major, Brahms’ String Quartet No.2 in A minor and Haydn Seven Last Words.

Head over to our booking website to secure your seat.

CrickleUkers Time Change

Due to popular demand, we’re extending the timing of the monthly Ukulele jam, CrickleUkers, by 30 minutes. From Friday 5 July, the sessions will start at 1900, rather than 1930. This will hopefully give all the beginners enough time to get a few chords under their belt before joining the main group in the front of the library.

Also, a reminder that we have about 10 spare ukes to lend out, so no need to buy one before coming along to have a go.

It’s also fine to bring snacks and drinks to share on the night.

Looking forward to seeing more of you there soon.

 

Support Susan and Gordon in the Blenheim Tri

On 1 June, Susan and Gordon Kennedy are taking part in the annual Blenheim Triathlon alongside other local athletes in the Kensal Tri team, to raise funds for the library. It’s no mean feat, and they deserve your support. All the money they raise will go towards funding programmes and activities at the library, so show them some love and sling them some dosh!

https://www.justgiving.com/page/kensaltrikennedys

May’s Last Friday is Bow Django

We are delighted to welcome back the talented and entertaining Bow Django, east London’s premier latin-influenced jazz band.

Bow Django comprises guitarists Ienne and Chris, bassist Casper, clarinettist Jenny, violinist Peter, and vocalist Annie.

The band was formed when a group of friends got together to play gypsy jazz in an African cafe in Bow in about 2018. However, it really got going in the ‘tween and post-Lockdown periods when the group met in Victoria Park each Friday for a couple of hours to play for themselves and a dedicated group of distanced audience.

The natural choice for parks, street parties, cafe culture and libraries, their music – uptempo and infectiously optimistic – can’t fail to get your feet tapping.

Get your tickets here.

Don’t Forget to Vote!

On Thursday 2 May 2024 there will be elections for the Mayor of London and the 25 Members of the London Assembly. I am required by law to send this booklet to all registered voters who are eligible to vote in these elections. It includes mini-manifestos from the Mayoral candidates who have chosen to have one, and the names of all candidates standing for the London Assembly. Changes to this year’s elections Photo ID: If you are voting in a polling station, you must now bring photo identification. You can find out what forms of ID are acceptable here. The good news is that lots of documents are accepted as forms of ID, including, but not limited to:

International travel
Passport issued by the UK, any of the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, a British Overseas Territory, an EEA state or a Commonwealth country (including an Irish Passport Card)
Driving and parking
Driving licence issued by the UK, any of the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, or an EEA state (this includes a provisional driving licence)
A Blue Badge
Local travel
Older Person’s Bus Pass funded by the UK Government
Disabled Person’s Bus Pass funded by the UK Government
Oyster 60+ Card funded by the UK Government
Freedom Pass
Scottish National Entitlement Card issued for the purpose of concessionary travel (including a 60+, disabled or under 22s bus pass)
60 and Over Welsh Concessionary Travel Card
Disabled Person’s Welsh Concessionary Travel Card
Senior SmartPass issued in Northern Ireland
Registered Blind SmartPass or Blind Person’s SmartPass issued in Northern Ireland
War Disablement SmartPass issued in Northern Ireland
60+ SmartPass issued in Northern Ireland
Half Fare SmartPass issued in Northern Ireland
Proof of age
Identity card bearing the Proof of Age Standards Scheme hologram (a PASS card)
Other government issued documents
Biometric immigration document
National identity card issued by an EEA state
Electoral Identity Card issued in Northern Ireland
Voter Authority Certificate
Anonymous Elector’s Document

If you don’t have an accepted form of photo ID

You can apply for a free voter ID document, known as a Voter Authority Certificate, if:

you don’t have an accepted form of photo ID
you’re not sure whether your photo ID still looks like you
you’re worried about using an existing form of ID for any other reason, such as the use of a gender marker
You need to register to vote before applying for a Voter Authority Certificate.

Once you are registered to vote, apply for a Voter Authority Certificate.

How we vote: The way we elect the Mayor of London has changed. There will only be one vote for the Mayor, when in the past there has been a first and second choice. There are two types of London Assembly Member. Constituency Assembly Members represent the 14 London Assembly constituencies, and 11 Assembly Members represent the whole of London. As in previous elections you have one vote for each. You can find out more about how to vote and how we work out the results here.