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Nicola Baird

Gail & Barry: Cally Park Pet Memorial Wall

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Gail and Barry are friends thanks to a shared love of dogs. (c) NB for Islington Faces
  Everyone has a story. Gail Timewell and Barry Garnham talk about dogs and the Cally Park Pet Memorial Wall – a unique spot in Islington created to remember dearly loved furry friends. Interview by Nicola Baird Dog walkers know Islington’s parks better than most of us because they visit…

 Kevan Tomlin: creative recovery worker 

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This outsize quilt is going to cover Caxton House in July as part of the community centre's 50th anniversary celebrations (c) KT
Everyone has a story. Creative recovery worker Kevan Tomlin explains why he loves working on community craft projects around Islington. Interview by Nicola Baird  After 35 years as a fashion designer Kevan Tomlin has found a role in Islington that he adores – answering his creative instincts and making him feel a part of…

Cat Webb: writer, lighting engineer, fixer

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Cat Webb, repair café volunteer and lighting technician: “Musicians can't help but integrate and engage with the sound engineer, but lighting engineers, we tend to be little anonymous shadows wearing a beanie hat.” (c) Nicola Baird for Islington Faces
Everyone has a story. Cat Webb – author, lighting engineer, repair cafĂ© fixer – talks about their Islington life. Interview by Nicola Baird They may have just moved to Kennington, but Cat Webb, 40, has a very close connection to Islington. For starters they were born and raised in Newington…

Martha Dillon & Nina Carter: collecting London’s climate stories

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Martha Dillon and Nina Carter are helping people to share their experiences and feelings about climate change with the London Climate Story Bank. (c) LdnClimateStoryBank
Everyone has a story. Friends Martha Dillon and Nina Carter have an ambitious plan to collect climate stories from Londoners and excitingly are trialling their first 2026 workshop in Islington, this April. Interview by Nicola Baird Martha Dillon and Nina Carter started working together in 2018 while planning a unique…

Toby Mitchell: Tall Stories theatre

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Toby Mitchell from Tall Stories is celebrating 25 years of the stage version of The Gruffalo. The show has been seen by more than 3 million children. (c) Roswitha Chesher
Everyone has a story, but not everyone has such a close connection with the amazing Gruffalo, that wonderful creation protecting a resourceful mouse. Thanks to a theatre company based in Highbury The Gruffalo is not just a book – it’s also celebrating its 25th anniversary on stage. Here Tall Stories…

Elaine Maffrett: community outreach

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Elaine Maffrett chats with Islington Climate Centre's Anna Hyde at the first Islington repair cafe of 2026 which was held at Cally Clock Tower Centre. Read the interview with Anna Hyde on this blog (c) Nicola Baird for Islington Faces

Everyone has a story. Here Elaine Maffrett, shares how Islington community centres have shaped her life. Interview by Nicola Baird. Elaine Maffrett is born and bred Islington: she was born at 48 Tyndale Mansions and then got her first flat in the same block. “It looks really posh, off Upper…

Zoe Pearson: Islington Faces trustee

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New Islington Faces trustee Zoe Pearson (c) NB for Islington Faces
Everyone has a story. Introducing our newest Islington Faces trustee, Zoe Pearson, 28, who brings creative energy to our board. She’s also a huge fan of Islington life after moving here after lockdown. Q&A by Nicola Baird. Q: Why did you want to be a trustee? I think what Islington…

Twixmas special: what do you love to do in Islington?

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© Nicola for Islington Faces
Everyone has a story. Islington Faces goes on a Twixmas 2025 mission to find out how people enjoy spending time in Islington. Interviews by founder Nicola Baird and our new trustee, Zoe Pearson. Top tip: FOLLOW Islington Faces, a new interview is published approx once a fortnight. We’re also busy…

Steve Platt: squatting memories

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Steve Platt with car outside Islington Community Housing (ICH) office (specialising in short life housing) on Hornsey Rise, around 1980-81. © SP
Everyone has a story. In the 1970s and early 1980s Islington was famous for its squat culture. Back then politicians from Labour, and even the Tories, were forced to accept squatting as a way to bring abandoned and neglected homes back into use. Plenty of young people found cheap homes…

Litterpicking on Regent’s Canal

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Collecting litter from the Regent's Canal is good for people, wildlife and fun. Try it and see, yes even in the autumn! (c) NB for Islington Faces
Everyone has a story. On the canal near Old Street, City Road and Angel, Islington Faces is helping paddleboarders collect up rubbish from the water thanks to a grant from Cripplegate that’s getting people on to the water Quick photoshoot of all the paddle and pick participants on our 9…