The 2023 Kensington Society newsletter has just been distributed

The theme for this year’s issue is Kensington Society itself, as the society was created by a handful of residents on 17 March 1953 and officially launched at a public meeting in Kensington Town Hall seven months later, which attracted some 600 locals. After the meeting, the membership jumped from two dozen to 474.

So, in this issue we focus six pages on how and why the society was created and some of the many issues it dealt with before we moved into the 21st century.

There is also an article about the new constituency borders, which may or may not influence who will be our member of Parliament after the next general election – which now is only months away.

Another article highlights the fact that the telephone network that has connected British homes for more than 100 years will be closed down in December 2025. From then on, landline telephony and landline internet communication can only be done through fibre optic cables.

There is also an article about the red British letter boxes. Why they are red and the many different types we can find around Kensington. Some of the sturdy cast iron pillar boxes have been in the same street corner for almost 140 years, handling more than 2.5 million letters and postcards each.

As usual there is also a six-page planning report about the many large building developments around Kensington, and our chairman writes about increased government centralisation, e-bikes left here and there and everywhere, problems with some of the new “summer terraces” outside restaurants and pubs, a meeting with our affiliated associations, and our 70th anniversary dinner in Leighton House.

You can find the 2023 newsletter in our archive or via this link.

Hope you enjoy it!