Simon Happily is an award-winning comedian who comperes the annual Pup Aid event in Primrose Hill and hosts his fun weekly pub quiz at the Lord Palmerston (Dartmouth Park Hill) every Tuesday at 8.15pm. He has appeared on television including Richard & Judy and The Big Breakfast on Channel 4 and has hosted comedy as various festivals, including London Mardi Gras. Simon lives in Belsize Park with his rescue dog Teddy. You can follow him on Twitter @SimonHappily.
What brought you to Belsize Park?
One of my best friends from university lived on West Heath Road so I wanted to be close to her and luck brought me to Belsize, near Primrose Hill park, so I got the best of both worlds.
What’s your best memory of the area?
Being given a tour of the beautiful Belsize Fire Station before Boris Johnson closed it. I was disappointed the Camden Tory leader and Belsize councillor Claire Louise-Leyland didn’t speak out against it.
How has Belsize Park changed?
It’s always been a mixed area – one I think works really well. However, I fear a combination of part-time dwellers and investors is putting pressure on local businesses. There’s also less respect for our community with people dumping rubbish in front of their multi-million pound homes.
What would you change?
Dramatically reduce car-use. Adelaide Road has become busier and more polluted and Eton Avenue is a nightmare during the school run. I’ve had to walk in the road when a woman drove onto the pavement to park close to a school.
If you were editor of the Ham&High, what issues would you champion?
Campaign to reopen Belsize Fire Station and Hampstead Police Station. I understand the frustrations of some Hampstead residents who want to pay for extra police, but match-funding from the Met is unfair as it would reduce police in poorer areas. I’d also stop property developers pretending to be pub companies from destroying our pubs such as the Black Cap, The Sir Richard Steele and the Dartmouth Arms.
How would you spend your perfect Sunday in your area?
A long walk with my rescue dog Teddy on Hampstead Heath before meeting friends for a picnic on Primrose Hill or eating at J’s on Regents Park Road
Who inspires you?
My A-level tutor Anna Searle and vet Marc Abraham who set up Pup Aid
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