I was a teenage beatnik - but I will miss Kenwood concerts

I was a teenage beatnik. I rocked to Bill Haley, jived to trad at Humph s 100 Club, swooned to Pat Boone, and Elvis sent me. I sang in a blues group with the late John Baldry. But, on summer weekends, the lure of a concert at Kenwood was irresistible (eve

I was a teenage beatnik. I rocked to Bill Haley, jived to trad at Humph's 100 Club, swooned to Pat Boone, and Elvis sent me. I sang in a blues group with the late John Baldry. But, on summer weekends, the lure of a concert at Kenwood was irresistible (even to a rebellious 'Cool Chick' like me)!

At first it was more the setting than the music that drew me but ironically it was my introduction to live classical music, and made a lasting impact on my soul.

Saddened by news of the demise of the open air concerts, I recalled a poem written when I was 17 after returning home from a concert in July 1960. It is called Kenwood Concert.

There was no ugliness in dusk.

A column of mosquitoes coiled above the lake.

I made you the bird in the sky,

And as you hung beneath the clouds

I watched until the sponge trees

Sucked you up.

Then you were a chord -

The last note of the closing bar.

I strained to hear you fade away

Into the night.

I, along with thousands this summer,will strain to hear the music fade away into the night.

Susan Bennett

St Regis Close, N10

WE were away in Cape Town when it was announced that the Kenwood concerts had sadly been axed. Whilst on holiday we attended two concerts in Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens in Cape Town. These run throughout the summer, starting at 5.30pm and finishing at 7pm.

They are very popular, especially with families. Everyone is clear of the area by 7.45pm. If the same times could be adopted for the Kenwood concerts would not this be a solution?

JENNY BUNN

Hocroft Avenue, NW2