September 2025
We were delighted to welcome former Guardian editors and local residents Alan Rusbridger and Janine Gibson to QCCA’s Camden Talks Live fundraising event in September.
The Pulitzer Prize-winners treated guests to a string of behind-the-scenes revelations about one of the century’s biggest media scoops.
Snowden, a former CIA contractor who exposed mass surveillance of the American population, took his story to the Guardian in 2013. But verifying his claims wasn’t easy.
Janine told QCCA’s packed main hall that she initially worried he was a ‘complete fantasist trying to bring down the Guardian’ and that his story ‘was either the Hitler diaries (famous hoax) or it is indeed the biggest thing.’
When she and Alan first met Snowden in Hong Kong in a hotel lobby, they asked him to bring a Rubik’s Cube so that they could recognise him.
And when they went to his room to continue the meeting, they were surprised by the measures he had taken not to be tracked. ‘There were wet towels by the door and phones in the fridge, all sorts of paranoid measures,’ says Janine.
The evening raised £1000 for QCCA.
One guest said: ‘I listened for about an hour and learned loads of stuff I hadn’t known before about the Snowden case. And the whole evening was very convivial. I loved the set up, I loved the free Prosecco and the wine. It was good company and I would definitely do it again.’
If you want to watch the full evening, you can see it on YouTube.
September 2025
We were delighted to welcome former Guardian editors and local residents Alan Rusbridger and Janine Gibson to QCCA’s Camden Talks Live fundraising event in September.
The Pulitzer Prize-winners treated guests to a string of behind-the-scenes revelations about one of the century’s biggest media scoops.
Snowden, a former CIA contractor who exposed mass surveillance of the American population, took his story to the Guardian in 2013. But verifying his claims wasn’t easy.
Janine told QCCA’s packed main hall that she initially worried he was a ‘complete fantasist trying to bring down the Guardian’ and that his story ‘was either the Hitler diaries (famous hoax) or it is indeed the biggest thing.’
When she and Alan first met Snowden in Hong Kong in a hotel lobby, they asked him to bring a Rubik’s Cube so that they could recognise him.
And when they went to his room to continue the meeting, they were surprised by the measures he had taken not to be tracked. ‘There were wet towels by the door and phones in the fridge, all sorts of paranoid measures,’ says Janine.
The evening raised £1000 for QCCA.
One guest said: ‘I listened for about an hour and learned loads of stuff I hadn’t known before about the Snowden case. And the whole evening was very convivial. I loved the set up, I loved the free Prosecco and the wine. It was good company and I would definitely do it again.’
If you want to watch the full evening, you can see it on YouTube.
Interested in Attending
future QCCA Events?
Where to find us:
45 Ashdown Crescent,
Gospel Oak,
NW5 4QE
0207 267 6635
© Queen’s Crescent Community Association – all rights reserved
Registered Charity No. 1096655. Registered CLG: 04393769
Where to find us:
45 Ashdown Crescent,
Gospel Oak,
NW5 4QE
0207 267 6635
© Queen’s Crescent Community Association – all rights reserved
Registered Charity No. 1096655. Registered CLG: 04393769