Latest news with #Hackney-based
Time Out
23-05-2025
- General
- Time Out
The City of London's biggest and oldest park has reopened after a massive makeover
Workers and residents in the City of London have been deprived of one of the area's best parks for quite some time now. But we bring you good news, because Finsbury Circus – the city's biggest green area – is finally re-open for good after more than a decade of building works and closures. The leafy oval in the heart of the City has been shut for refurbishment since November 2023. But on-and-off closures have been going on since long before then, with Finsbury Circus first being taken over by the Crossrail construction in March 2010, and not reopening until August 2020. But the park is now back to business as usual, and it's got a lovely new 'urban forest', oval-shaped footpath and islands full of bedded plants. The redesign of the two-acre garden was carried out by Hackney-based Architecture00 + Studio Weave (00SW) with ReardonSmith Landscape. One of the oldest greens in the city, Finsbury Circus Gardens has been offering Londoners a spot for peace and quiet since 1606 when it was laid out as London's first public park. The Grade II-listed spot is also home to a Grade II-listed drinking fountain dating back to 1902, which has been restored and moved to a new location under its own canopy.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Australia's Jackson Irvine ‘disappointed' by men's football's reaction to English ban on transgender women
Jackson Irvine, the captain of the Australia men's national team and German side St Pauli, says the lack of public support from men's football towards transgender women being banned from women's football in the United Kingdom is 'disappointing'. Earlier this month, the Football Association (FA) announced a ban on transgender women playing women's football from June 1. Advertisement The decision followed the Supreme Court ruling on April 16, when the UK's highest court decided that the legal definition of a woman would be based on biological sex. The FA subsequently amended its inclusion policy to exclude all transgender women from women's football, falling in line with other major sports in the UK. 'I didn't feel that there was much of a public display of support or allyship across the men's game, that was disappointing,' Irvine told the Sky Sports podcast Real Talk. 'We still have a long way to go in football, and especially men's football, to speak out on any social issues and especially when it comes to LGBTQI+ rights, where maybe players don't feel confident or supported to make statements.' Goal Diggers FC, a trans-inclusive grassroots team established in 2015, organised a march towards Wembley to protest the decision, which was attended by more than 100 people. Advertisement The Hackney-based club, which welcomes non-binary and transgender players, wrote an open letter to the FA with more than 1,600 supporting signatures, within it calling the Supreme Court's decision a 'stain on the country's reputation'. Around 20 transgender players are believed to be involved at the grassroots level of the game and are thought to be affected by the new policy. There are almost 5.5million women and girls are registered to play football in England. 'The small number of trans women who play football in the UK just emphasises how heavy-handed that decision was,' Irvine added. 'Most footballers would welcome any team-mate into their environment regardless of what they identify as. 'I think the game has taken strides for and generationally we are a more accepting and open space. I would like to see more people stand up whenever rights are taken away from our fellow footballers. Advertisement 'We want to make sure everyone who plays our game has a safe and inclusive space to play the game we all love.' Irvine, 32, has spent much of his career in the UK, playing for Celtic, Kilmarnock, Ross County and Hibernian in Scotland, and Burton Albion and Hull City in England. He has scored 14 goals in 78 appearances for Australia. This article originally appeared in The Athletic. Australia, Soccer, International Football, Bundesliga, UK Women's Football 2025 The Athletic Media Company
New York Times
07-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Grassroots footballers protest FA's ban on transgender women: ‘We are determined to keep going'
'Every step we're taking to Wembley, we're showing that even though they might be trying to pull us back, we're moving forward in a way that's united and centring on the joy of football,' Fleur Cousens said, 'and at the core of that is trans joy.' Cousens, the founder of Goal Diggers, a grassroots football club in London, was one of more than 100 people who marched on Monday to protest the Football Association's incoming ban on transgender women playing women's football. Starting from Goal Diggers' training ground in the east of the capital, they made their way to the home of English football to deliver an open letter to the governing body. Influenced by the supreme ccourt's ruling on April 16, when the UK's highest court decided that the legal definition of a woman would be based on biological sex, the FA amended its inclusion policy to exclude all transgender women from women's football from June 1, falling in line with other major sports in the UK. But Cousens and Goal Diggers are demanding that the FA's decision be reversed. 'I wanted to put the 'all' back in football,' Cousens told The Athletic , on mile nine of the 12-mile sponsored walk, which had raised almost £10,000 ($13, 393 at current conversion rates) at the time of publication. Cousens founded Goal Diggers in 2015 with inclusivity at its core. The Hackney-based club, which welcomes non-binary and transgender players, wrote an open letter to the FA with more than 1,600 supporting signatures, within it calling the Supreme Court's decision a 'stain on the country's reputation'. Team members from Goal Diggers and other London clubs had gathered in Haggerston Park and walked to Wembley Stadium, where the FA's offices are located, to deliver their message in person. Cousens said if the FA did not overturn its decision, the club would pull out of any FA-affiliated leagues. 'We don't want to be in any leagues under an umbrella like the FA, which is showing exactly what you should not be doing when it comes to inclusion. It's terrible for so many reasons. It's disgraceful that such a massive decision has been made without talking to the people in the communities that have a lived experience of being in a world that is trans-inclusive,' Cousens said. 'What will happen is so many teams will stop being affiliated with any FA league and just start a different footballing world – one that is better.' In 1921, the FA banned women from playing football, deeming it 'quite unsuitable'. The ban was in place for 50 years, and the women's game has been playing catch-up ever since. 'We're here now in 2025 and they've made another ban,' Cousens said. 'But we will play for the love of the game, we are determined to keep going.' Becky Taylor-Gill, the walk's organiser, said: ' I feel hopeful today and I don't think that hope comes from the FA. That hope comes from the community around us. We had an email from (FA chief executive) Mark Bullingham this morning (Monday) saying he understands our feelings about this, he understands how disappointed our players will be, but he didn't offer any concrete guidance of what will happen next and whether they will overturn it. And so our message stays the same, we want it overturned.' Sammy Rees, a 26-year-old transgender woman, joined Goal Diggers last year and said that five minutes into her first training session, she felt a community's arms wrap around her. At Goal Diggers, where six club members are trans, the doors are firmly open. 'I spent some time playing men's football. But it really wasn't my bag,' Rees said. 'I felt very uncomfortable and it was not the nicest environment for me. Then I joined Goal Diggers and I've never looked back. It's changed my life completely. These people have such open hearts. 'Since coming out, football has been my escape. We (trans people) wake up every day to more disgusting news about us: people vilifying us, people questioning our identity and our existence. Football means that for two or three hours a week, I can switch my brain off. I can have a moment where I don't care about the news. It's my escape, and the fact that it's trying to be taken away from us is not fair.' Rees said she found the supreme court ruling, which is expected to shape UK social policymaking on issues such as public changing rooms and women-only spaces, devastating. In their ruling, the judges stated they were not commenting more broadly on whether trans women are women, adding that it was not the role of the court to adjudicate on the meaning of gender or sex. When announcing the ruling, Lord Hodge stated it should not be taken as a triumph for one group in society. On April 11, the FA updated its policy around transgender athletes, introducing stricter eligibility criteria for transgender women and non-binary players in the women's game. A few weeks later, on May 1, the FA again changed its inclusion policy, saying in a statement: 'Our position has always been that if there was a material change in law, science, or the operation of the policy in grassroots football then we would review it and change it if necessary.' The statement added: 'We understand that this will be difficult for people who simply want to play the game they love in the gender by which they identify, and we are contacting the registered transgender women currently playing to explain the changes and how they can continue to stay involved in the game.' 'It's quite hard to quantify how painful the news has been,' Rees said. 'It's like everything we've worked hard for has been pulled from us. We cried it out as a group (on Thursday). I've had so much solidarity from the team. We're trying to make a point that we're not going anywhere. We're here, we're going to keep playing football, nothing's going to stop that. The FA doesn't own football. You can't stop us.' The past decade has seen 72 transgender footballers take part in grassroots games. Around 20 transgender players playing at the grassroots level of the game are thought to be affected by the new policy. To put that number into context, almost 5.5million women and girls are registered to play football in England. 'There are so many more issues in football we could focus on rather than a group of people who are just trying to get by, trying to do what they enjoy,' Rees said. Paula Griffin, a 60-year-old transgender woman who plays for Goal Diggers, as well as Clapton Community FC, said she was 'stunned and heartbroken' by the FA's May 1 announcement. 'I did a lot of crying. Football was something that's been so good. Something I've loved has been taken away from me. I've been told I can't play football with my friends.' 'It's just so devastating to see how it is affecting people like Paula,' Ally Walker, a player for Collective Joy FC, said. 'The FA are regressing. They're going back on all the progress they've been trying to put forward for the women's game over the last few years. They are throwing all that away by banning women who want to play.' As the group arrived in clusters at Wembley Stadium's steps, Sweet Caroline, the Neil Diamond song adored by England fans, played out on speakers, the mood defiant and positive. Even after 30,000 steps across London, the group's energy was ceaseless. Written onto concrete in chalk were statements like, 'Let the dolls play,' and, 'I love my trans team-mates.' Goal Diggers said they would not stop fighting for trans inclusion in women's football. Many hope there will be more public messages of support from the top end of the women's game. Kerstin Casparij kissed a trans flag on her wrist last month after scoring for Manchester City and her team-mate Katie Startup told The Observer that transgender women 'should have the right and opportunity to access and feel safe in football'. But barring those displays of solidarity, public support from Women's Super League players has been relatively quiet. 'Women's football is such a friendly, queer space,' Taylor-Gill added. 'I would really hope that extends to our trans team-mates in grassroots football. It would be really, really powerful to see some more WSL players stand up for that.' (Top photo: Caoimhe O'Neill/ The Athletic )
BBC News
15-02-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Hackney: Talent show that 'helps create unity' marks 25 years
A talent show where past winners have included singer Leona Lewis and dance group Diversity returned to north-east London to celebrate its 25th by Hackney-based youth project The Crib, Boroughs United aims to bring young people together to try to combat postcode rivalry amid tensions in year the show remembers young people in London who have been killed by gun and knife crime. Held at the Hackney Empire, the sell-out show sees dancers, singers, spoken word artists and MCs from all over London compete. Host Jaydon Rhule, 19, said: "It's such a positive experience and it showcases young people striving to do good things and better themselves - some may even want to be professional artists." Janette Collins MBE, founder of The Crib which is based on the De Beauvoir Estate in Dalston, said there were "a lot of tensions between different boroughs" and they started the production "to show you can bring people together"."We thought music and dance would interest most young people," she Crib works with vulnerable young people and supports families affected by knife crime. Michelle McPhillips's son Jonathan, known as JJ, was killed in Islington in 2017. She helped open the weekend's show, telling the audience: "The Crib gives you place of home and safety in the community." A video memorial was also shown of young people who had died from knife and gun crime last year in London."I've lost people to knife crime, so I feel it's a really important subject," said Tyrelle Johnson, 21, a dancer with a Waltham Forest youth group called Leaders Community."But dance brings everyone together. This is a safe space for everyone to do what we want to do, dance keeps me happy."One of the performances during this year's edition was a drumming and dance routine by Islington-based group Amberliegh."What the Crib do is amazing," said Amberliegh's artist director Laurette Josiah."The young people look forward to it every year. It boosts their confidence and gives them something to aim for." The Crib also helps young people run the show on and off manager Pembe Tokluhan, 27, started going to The Crib when she was 10 years old and now runs her own company, Petok Productions, which specialises in backstage and event management."Boroughs United was my first exposure to backstage work which inspired me to get into the industry," she said."It is still a real opportunity for young people. It helps them feel they are part of a family and a community." Will it be going for another 25 years? Ms Collins hopes so."We have so much work to do but it's getting harder. Funding is a real challenge," she said."Boroughs United celebrates young people who lost their lives and those who want to make a difference. "It shows we can have unity in our communities - it's an important message."
