Hello friends.I Want to please ask a smallish favour for my good friend Simon. He is working with a group who are passionately trying to make the case for turning the only London residency of William and Catherine Blake into an arts and education centre in his name. The last remaining London residence in which William and Catherine Blake lived and worked for 17 years and where the iconic works ‘Milton’ and ‘Jerusalem’ were created, is part of the South Molton Triangle redevelopment plan commencing 2023. As part of that plan, 17 South Molton Street is earmarked to become a private residence. The group that manages the property, Grosvenor Estate (ie Duke Of Westminster), has heard us out- but they already have plans to convert 17 South Molton Street into luxury apartments. Freinds have tried to get a business plan together and they will persist until they are told to stop- but it's hard to convince big business that an ‘arty’ project like this will fly. They are hoping that artists from across the piste will voice their support for maintaining a place for William Blake- a consistently relevant and challenging artist. The group have presented many such notes of support from all over- from the ex Archbishop of Canterbury to the head of the Royal College of Music. My friends would appreciate it if you could share this on social media to support them and to alert other artists about this.If you would like to be kept in touch with the progress or offer support with practical knowhow or expertise, please get in touch – they would love to hear from you.EMAIL: Williamblakefellowship@mail.com(note ‘mail’ not Gmail) With love from William Blake Fellowship‘The bird a nest, the spider a web, man friendship” William Blake