The pubic services are perfectly bad at consulting with the black community about what we think of their services. They make major decisions that affect our finances, our children, education, health, social well-being, crime and fear of crime etc etc. And yet, they still can't seem to find a way to consult, involve and engage with us over what is important to us, what we like and don't like about their services and so forth.

This post is to encourage you to have your say and get things off your chest. If authorities want to check in with what we think about them, they can come here !!

And the one i want to kick up with is Hackney Council and all the other badly managed local authorities who have the audacity to be constantly in debt yet have the cheek to continue to charge working class people money for services that clearly Hackney are not properly managing. Where is the money going and how long does it take to get out of debt? They would soon slap a notice to quit on a tenant if they were in rent arrears yet we have no recourse to hold them to account whilst continuously in debt.

Why do they charge for people to park until 11.30pm at night. Thiefs. You think they could get away with that kind of extortionate parking/charging policy in Kensington & Chelsea, Camden or Islington? Hackney central is a nightmare to park in if you want to go to the Empire or Oceans. It's not like Stratford where parking is just as bad but at least you've got the tube near by. Hackney hasn't even got a tube line in 2007! How long does it take to recognise that quite clearly the borough has severely neglected its community and continues to do so with proof of corrupt local politicians? And what is Ms Abbott doing about all of this is a local MP?

How about Waltham Forest borough. Doesn't have a cinema. The whole borough doesn't have a local picture house -- does anyone know of any other London borough that doesn't have it's own cinema????

Anyway, that's me for now so come let's have your rants... get it off your chest and let the public sector know what we think of their services, policies and decision making.

Pce

Fem'

Yep

The whole of Lewisham borough has NO CINEMAS!! Its pathetic! Now admittedly we have three next door in Greenwich but thats not really the point now is it??

I used to live in Lewisham is it me or has the local authority let the town centre go to the dogs, i cannot believe just how shabby Lewisham centre has gotten...

Femegy.. If memory serves they had a cinema in Walthamstow just past the the shopping centre but they closed it down for reasons that was beyond me...

Yep - I remember shopping in Lewisham with my Grandma waaaaay back in the day and the shopping centre was a decent place - it even had a 2nd floor if memory serves correctly. Now its just full of trashy cheap shops, I'm surprised Marks and Spencer are still there actually - only a matter of time before they follow the rest and close up shop.

It's worse than that......there also used to be the ABC at Bakers Arms opposite where the Tesco store now is, and the Curzon opposite Markhouse Road at the junction of Church Road and Lea Bridge Road - used to be the regular Friday night venue for martial arts films......plus a couple of private cinema places in Walthamstow and Leytonstone.....

Nothing more or less sinister than market forces, I guess.....the rise of video and DVD, piracy, downloading....plus the trend towards multiplex cinemas - rare you will find a picture house with just one screen these days, and all of those in Waltham Forest (except Walthamstow if memory serves) were of that type.....

Found this on the the fate of Walthamstow cinema:

Walthamstow cinema up for sale

OK that is now occupied by KICC who were hounded out of Waterdon Rd due to the Olympics. I went there several weeks ago and they have done it up nice although too small even for the PM service.

Who has got a good town centre outside of the inner north/west london boroughs? used to be a time that if there was an M&S then it was a good indicator. But not even Stratford can court them back. At least Lewisham has a ~Theatre, Waltham Forest hasn't got any cultural centres yet East London has got so many talented youths - it ain't rocket science. Stratford has made an effort but it took 10 years to set that up and it isn't making any money!!

What I'd like to see is something that our community owns that can compete with places like the Jazz Cafe who snap up all the black artists home and US sides - we need our own venue to keep the economy rotating within our communities not the private sector/camden council alone.

Think KICC are on a site at the Lea Bridge Road end of Hoe Street, which is an old bingo hall and not the cinema close to the market. Least last time I looked, anyway......

I don't know what it was before. It was definitely a listed buidling and np-one had the money to do it up - empty for about 20 years! There was definitely a cinema down in Walthamstow - old fashioned type - I think it was taken over by one of the minority groups for culturally specific films but I don't know what it is now.

That would be the EMD, which used to be the cinema In Walthamstow. Think it was the originally the Odeon, then when it became EMD it specialised in showing Indian/Pakistani movies, but again it shut down, Building is still run down as far as I know, but that may change with the 'new' Walthamstow town centre.

Where KICC now is was also empty for years - may have been a cinema once upon a time, but there would have been another one on Leyton High Road within 500 yards.....and both closed long long time back. Lived and went to school very close to it growing up and always remember it as a bingo hall.