Hackney People
Jim Armstrong
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As a teenager in Belfast during the Troubles, Jim Armstrong was drawn to London in 1970 by its opportunities. Now well-known in the borough as co-ordinator of Hackney’s famous Laburnum Boat Club, on the banks of the Regent’s Canal in Haggerston, Jim was among a |
group of people who arrived on site in the early 1980s, when it was a piece of derelict land once home to an old Victorian gas works.
He has seen things transformed for the better in Hackney over the past quarter of a century, but says that some things don’t change. He said:
“There has been a lot of physical change locally – and more on the way. But the kids are just the same and they’re great. The social mix is varied – it’s rich, diverse and friendly.”
Change for the better has also come to the boat club in the form of £150,000 in funding from Team Hackney. A good relationship with the Bridge Academy – the boundary of which butts directly on to that of the club – has also helped.
The academy is the leaseholder of the site, and has allowed the club access to an extra strip of land. This has proved vital in the refurbishment of the 25-year-old timber Aframe clubhouse, providing space for an extension that houses new changing rooms.
Now Year Seven and Eight academy students are among the hundreds of young people who take part in kayak courses and other activities.
Jim says: “The A-frame clubhouse was built in 1983 when we first opened and was supposed to last for 18 months.
“The difference now it’s been refurbished is immense. It was much loved but small and in bad repair. We still have the Aframe shape, but now also a new kitchen, lockers, showers and toilets, all with wheelchair access and, crucially, decent-sized changing rooms.”
Jim, has lived in Stoke Newington since 1978, and has two children at Stoke Newington School. He has long been firmly dedicated to Hackney.
“After teacher training, I got a summer job at Islington Boat Club in 1975, and that turned my head. I decided to go into youth work,” says Jim.
“I came to Hackney as a part-time play leader at Clissold Park. I fell in love with the area and I swore I’d come back and live in Stoke Newington. It took me five years.”
Curriculum Vitae
- 1951 Born, Belfast, Northern Ireland
- 1970 Left Belfast to come to London
- 1973 Teacher training at North London Polytechnic
- 1975 Summer job at Islington Boat Club
- 1983 Laburnum Boat Club opens
- 2008 The club celebrates its 25th birthday
- 2009 Refurbished clubhouse reopens
More information
For further details call: 020 7729 2915 or visit: www.laburnum.org
Page updated: 8 Jun 2009