Life has changed dramatically for all of us since my last post on 1st March, and I hope you are keeping well and safe. This is an end-of-year update for you and all the other 250+ people who have so generously supported the Rotherhithe Illuminated! legacy lighting scheme. When the first lockdown was announced in March we realised that we had no option but to delay the plans to install and launch the project until next summer – 2021 - so that it is ‘ready to go’ in time to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the safe return of the Mayflower to Rotherhithe in early summer 1621. We are working with our colleagues at Thames Alive on that basis, in the hope that by the time of the proposed celebration - and in conjunction with the proposed flotilla/procession from Rotherhithe to the Palace of Westminster, probably in mid-June - the social distancing requirements will have been significantly eased and we can organise a joyful commemorative event for everyone to enjoy. Applications we had submitted to other funders are all on hold for the time being, as everyone is of course focussing on Covid-related priorities. However we learned in May that our funding application to the US Embassy had been successful. This was wonderful news to receive during lockdown! The Grants Committee was very impressed with our proposal and they are looking forward to working with us. In agreement with the Embassy we will be using their grant for the installation of the lighting which will illuminate the spire and clocks of St Mary’s church and the Christopher Jones memorial. Taking account of pandemic-related considerations, they have kindly given us a window of one year from 1st September 2020 to spend the funds they have awarded us. The feasibility study which we crowdfunded for in 2018 has continued to progress very slowly since March, despite the constraints of lockdown, and it is now complete. All the necessary listed building consents have been obtained, so we are all set to go ahead with the installation, funding permitting. We are looking at only installing specific elements of the scheme, as it is likely to prove difficult to raise the approximately £70K still needed to deliver the entire project. Finally, we have been urged by the GLA and Spacehive to pitch to the Mayor of London again for a small amount of funding via the Mayor’s new Make London programme, which aims to support communities to come together and create new and impactful projects that help their neighbourhoods recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. The criteria include improving public spaces, such as installing locally distinctive lighting, furniture, greening, or public art. They are encouraging projects which celebrate and strengthen the special character of an area, which make everyone in the community feel welcome and involved, and which are environmentally sustainable. We will find out by 15 March whether or not we have been successful. I will be in touch again when there is further news to report. In the meantime all good wishes to you for the festive season and for New Year 2021, and stay well! Clare and the project team SE16.RI@gmail.com

Following on from my last update, a few of us met recently with the editor of the River Thames Society’s magazine – the Thames Guardian - to talk through what is being planned in Rotherhithe during 2020. Please take a moment to copy and paste this link into your web browser and take a look at the final version of the article! https://bit.ly/2Thc3ui (sorry –clickable links aren’t possible on Spacehive). As you can see the editor has done a pretty good job. She has asked me to keep her posted on other developments being planned in Rotherhithe over the coming months so that she can flag them up in their news pages in the next issue. This article will appear in the March edition of the magazine, which went to press last Monday 24 February. The print run of the Thames Guardian is 7800, of which 5800 go to the estate agents Waterview – the magazine sponsors - for mailing to riverside properties along the length of the Thames. 2000 copies are sent to River Thames Society members who are based all along the river from the source to the sea, as well as to riparian MPs, to relevant Ministers, to various river bodies, and for distribution at events along the river. So this article represents really excellent coverage of what we are trying to achieve! Huge thanks for your continued support for this exciting legacy lighting project – more news very soon! Clare and the project team

first page of press release now attached...

Fantastic news - Thames Clippers have supported us with a generous donation towards the installation of this legacy lighting scheme, and the joint press announcement was released this afternoon! They also posted a brilliant piece about the project in their enewsletter which was sent out last Friday 7 February to all the 102K+ individuals on their database. There will also be a piece in the March edition of the Thames Guardian about us and about various Mayflower 400 events being planned in Rotherhithe during the course of this 400th Mayflower year. Watch this space for further exciting announcements!! Clare and the project team

Last Monday we recorded an interview with Steve Lazarus, the Founder & Host of the Your London Legacy podcast. Steve is doing a special Mayflower 400 season, and the interview with us is the fourth and final part of this mini-series. The link to the interview is www.yourlondonlegacy.com/rotherhithe - we hope you enjoy it! As you know from my recent posts we are now in the very final stages of the feasibility study, and we're still hoping to be able to fundraise enough to ensure that this legacy lighting scheme can be installed before July 2020 when the main Mayflower commemorations in Rotherhithe will take place. Fingers crossed and watch this space! In the meantime very best wishes for Christmas and for the New Year 2020, and thank you again for your generous support. Clare and the project team.

Following on from my last post, the presentation last Tuesday 29 October was a great success and was well attended – more than 40 people came along! It was clear that there is real enthusiasm out there for what we are trying to achieve with this exciting legacy lighting project. So now we will continue to work flat out on fundraising for the cost of the installation of the scheme, in the hope that it will be possible to install it in the spring before the main Mayflower 400 commemorations in Rotherhithe kick off in July next year. It was noted by attendees that the credentials of the contributors and the quality of the feasibility work has been and is very high – we are really lucky to be working with such committed and expert professionals! During the presentation it was explained why such lighting schemes are widely accepted as valuable community assets, with examples from around the country. The Rotherhithe proposal was put in the context of the Illuminated River project, for which it is in some ways an eastward extension. (As you know the Illuminated River Foundation, in conjunction with the Rothschild Foundation, have given this scheme their generous backing, as have the Mayor of London, the Port of London Authority and City Cruises). Details were given of the desired warm-white lighting effects (“see the buildings, not the lights”) and the low-profile / low-energy / low-maintenance equipment to be used. The realisation of the vision for each part of the scheme was explained using computer-generated images, and these were then demonstrated with photographs taken during lighting trials on the actual buildings and statues. There were a few specific and interesting questions raised during the Q&A at the end, but it was clear that any doubts some members of the audience had had were addressed by the material presented. Several other audience members just wanted to express their support. Everyone was reminded that key elements of three of the buildings to be illuminated will be visible from London Bridge as well as from Tower Bridge, and mention was made of the broader context of Rotherhithe’s historical links to ‘The River Thames (and the Seas Beyond)’. More localised consultations will be taking place soon to seek the necessary consents. As you know we are fundraising for the £108,000 needed for the installation of this legacy lighting scheme, and various philanthropic organisations are being approached for support. The aim is to have everything in place by July next year ready for the Mayflower 400 commemorations and then for many more years into the future. Finally, I’ve posted a pic of the softly illuminated church spire and clock, which was taken during the lighting trials on 24 September. They show you what the illuminations on this element of the lighting scheme would look like every evening after dusk for the next 30+ years. If you weren’t able to join us on Tuesday evening please do let us know at SE16.RI@gmail.com if you have any questions for us. In the meantime don’t forget that you can support us by donating via https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/rotherhithe-illuminated - every single £ will help us reach our target! Huge thanks once again for your support and your enthusiasm. Clare and the project team