Come along to OPEN between 12.30 and 1.30pm on Friday to relax and listen to local folk group Oddfellas play traditional folk songs and tunes from the British Isles on banjo, fiddle, guitar and more – and all for free!
Update on police action over Dean Gardens and surrounding area
In the past five weeks we have had two major incidents in the Dean Gardens area. These incidents came as a surprise, as the number of local problems has actually been slowly decreasing. However, the Police, Council and other local agencies have joined together with the aim of eradicating such serious incidents from the area. A JAG meeting (Joint Action Group) was convened on 16th September by the Walpole Safer Neighbourhood Team on behalf of Ealing Police. This note summarises the main outcomes for the local community.
It is now clear that the ‘troublemakers’ in Dean Gardens have changed over recent months. In the past the same known people frequented the area, day and night. We now have two entirely different groups. In particular, at night, we have a younger group – understood to be predominantly Somali – converging on West Ealing, probably as it is convenient, central to their homes, well served by buses and has a ready supply of alcohol off-sales, Shisha and Khat café outlets.
As a direct response to the recent incidents, the police have increased their resources on the ground – 24/7. It is quite likely that residents will see rapid response units and other centralised specialist units being called in at any time of the night and day to support our local teams. The aim is to increase visible law enforcement. In addition there is an increase in the number of plain clothes officers gathering intelligence, as nobody quite understands who these young people are and why they want to be in West Ealing during the night.
As a result of the JAG, the Council, Fire Brigade and Police will be coordinating their work in the area to ensure that licensing, planning and food health and safety legislation is being strictly enforced. This should help minimise any local ‘under the counter’ sales of alcohol and squeeze the availability of Shisha and Khat, neither of which are controlled substances in this country.
Everyone appreciates that a clamp down inWest Ealing is likely to move the problem to other areas and therefore local outreach organisations such as St Mungo’s and Ealing Council Adult and Children’s Services are also involved to help cushion the impact on the genuinely homeless and disadvantaged.
In summary – everyone at the JAG agreed that the current night-time situation must change. West Ealing is part of a residential area, not a centre for ‘gang behaviour’. And with this in mind, everyone in the area can help. If you are aware of any anti-social behaviour or drug related incident, you can report it by ringing 101 (this number is for all calls to the police other than emergencies – for which please ring 999). 101 will get you through to the Metropolitan Police who will pass the details to a duty officer in Ealing for collation by our intelligence team.
If you have any queries, you can contact our local Walpole Police SNT on 020 8721 2949
Thank you.
Patrick RR Chapman
Chairman, Walpole Ward SNT Focus Group Panel
Come and watch a special open rehearsal at OPEN Ealing this Thursday evening
It was an invitation no business man could resist…3 attractive women who refused to tell him what the job entailed’. Your chance to see a special public OPEN rehearsal of Peter Harrison’s All Those Endearing Young Charms, directed by Ealing-based Anthony Shrubsall, before it goes to this year’s Windsor Fringe. Thursday 29th September at 7.30pm. Tickets £4. Call OPEN on 020 8579 5558 to reserve a ticket.
It was an invitation no business man could resist. An invitation to be interviewed at a secret location for a very important post. Intriguingly, there was mystery about his interrogators, 3 attractive women who refused to tell him what the job entailed. When he learned the truth it was too late…
Anthony Shrubsall is a freelance theatre director based in London. His most recent production Richard Tyrone Jones Has a Big Heart premiered at the Buxton Fringe this summer while LANZA with the opera singer Andrew Bain, ran at the Kings Head, London from December 2010 to January 2011.
His production of Security, a one woman show commissioned by BAC and Birmingham Rep was written and performed by renowned spoken word artist and performance poet Zena Edwards. The show premiered at Battersea Arts Centre and toured nationally and internationally in 2009, a year which also which saw Security published in book form. In June 2010 the show was the first ever UK production invited to Japan for the highly prestigious Shizuoka Performing Arts Festival.
A former Artistic Director at the Drayton Court Theatre, London, Anthony has written and published on Samuel Beckett, Theatre d’Complicite’s Jos Houben, Harold Pinter and Vsevolod Meyerhold, respectively. He is a member of the Director’s Guild of Great Britain.
West Ealing Family Day: free opera workshop for children on Saturday
Free Opera workshop for children on Saturday 24th September at St James Church 1-3pm
Opera Viscera return to Ealing for a one-off special event. They are staging a free 2-hour workshop for children aged 7-12 at 1pm followed at 3.15pm by a performance from their specially written opera ‘Narcissus and Echo’
This workshop is aimed at children aged 7-12. You can come along to the OPEN Ealing stall in Melbourne Avenue and reserve a free place.
Afternoon Starts: 1pm (Breaks for juice and biscuits will be taken during the afternoon)
Parents Arrive: 3pm
Performance of Opera: 3.15pm
‘We are creating a musical performance of the story ‘Narcissus and Echo’ and we need your help to make it something special. Dive into a world of sounds and mirrors with us and who knows what your imagination might find……’
Children will discover the story of Narcissus & Echo and learn how an opera is made in an energetic, experimental and fun afternoon of music and drama. The afternoon will finish with a version of our opera ‘Narcissus & Echo’: a mythical tale of music, magic and mirrors. We hope that the children might let you in on some of the day’s discoveries so that you can enjoy the show as much as they will!
Sarah Hill – Workshop Leader
When not performing as a violinist Sarah is currently teaching the violin and leading Wider Opportunity projects at primary schools around Manchester. With an urge to gain more experience in educating children though the creative arts Sarah has completed the Dalcroze Easter Course, has been a volunteer tutor with Special Virtuosi (a music group for children with learning disabilities) and has attended all sorts of workshops with EarlyArts aiming at nurturing creativity in children.
Yesterday’s fire in West Ealing
Apologies for not having the time to put up a post yesterday. The fire was in a top floor flat in one of the houses in Chapel Road – just off the Uxbridge Road east of the Lido Junction and not very far from St John’s Church. When I passed by at about 5.30pm I asked the police about it and they did not know if anyone was killed or injured during the blaze. The area was chock full of fire engines and other emergency vehicles still busy putting out the fire and quite a few roads were still cordoned off and buses parked along the Uxbridge Road.
I don’t know exactly when it started but I was at OPEN Ealing just down the road and we first smelt smoke mid-afternoon, went up to the 4th floor and could see smoke pouring from the fire. As OPEN is opposite the fire station we certainly heard the fire engines heading off!
The last serious fire I can remember in central West Ealing was sometime in the early 1980s (?) when a small factory caught fire off Grosvenor Road – at least I think that’s where it was.
Free opera workshop for children at West Ealing Family Day on Saturday 24th September
Saturday 24th September at St James Church from 1pm -3pm
Opera Viscera and OPEN Ealing present a workshop afternoon of music, drama, and design;exploring the process of making an opera (a story with music). Throughout the afternoon the children will help our performers choose how their characters might move on stage, what sounds they might make, and what their costumes could look like. They will even have a go at conducting our professional musicians! The afternoon will finish with highlights of our opera ‘Narcissus and Echo’; a mythical tale of music, magic and mirrors. We hope that the children might let you on on some of the day’s discoveries so that you can enjoy the show as much as they will!
Opera Viscera are a team of young professional musicians, composers and designers who came to OPEN Ealing in July to prepare their new opera. They premiered their opera at OPEN to a packed audience and have since performed it at the Secret Garden Festival and other venues.
The workshop will be led by violinist Sarah Hill (pictured)- an experienced music teacher and workshop leader. If you’d like to book a place on this workshop please email westealingneighbours@gmail.com
David Highton
Dog Ownership Information Day – today in Dean Gardens 12 noon – 5pm
Ealing Council’s Community Safety team will be in Dean Gardens this afternoon from 12 noon to 5pm to give out information about how to look after your pet’s health and will be offering dog microchipping. The aim of the day is to encourage responsible dog ownership following some recent incidents in our parks where dogs have been out of control.
Residents up in arms about new 24-hour gym in West Ealing
The Daniels Family persuaded Ealing Council in 2003 to allow them to knock down their 100 year old department store on the Uxbridge Road in West Ealing and build a new one on the same site. Oh, and they were allowed to build 137 new flats on top of it. The flats got built in 2007 but Daniels declined to occupy the store space, as did everyone else for over four years. The space was boarded up until a few weeks ago.
A gym is planning to open in the space in November 2011. On the face of it, it seemed better have some use of the space than to have the space unused. However we’ve just discovered that Ealing Council is to allow the gym to be open for 24 hours every day. Also the owners of the gym expect 6,000 gym members (paying £15 per month), and 600 of them using the gym after 10:00pm. However there are no plans to employ any gym staff after 8:00pm every evening.
Clearly some of these gym users will drive to the area. But where would they park? There are CPZs to the immediate north and south and a very small nearby Council car park in Arden Road.
Apart from the flat dwellers above the gym and five day time opening shops across the road no-one locally was consulted about the 24 hour opening of the gym. Local residents are livid about this. Not only have they had to put up with riots, looting, shootings, stabbings, violence, urinatings, late night noisy drunken revellers – now they have to put up with the comings and goings of 100s of gym attendees all through the night.
A campaigning group objecting to the plans and the lack of consultation has been set up by local residents. Contact them at www.ResidentsUnite.co.uk
Eric Leach
14 September 2011
OPEN Ealing launches its autumn season of classes and courses for adults
OPEN Ealing has launched its autumn season of activities for adults. Coming up soon are:
5-week course on introduction to photography
12-week course in creative writing
12-week series of talks on the history of 20th century design
6-week course on printmaking
Alongside these are all sorts of dance and exercise classes for all ages from zumba and pilates to Glee Club, breakdance and ballet.
Visit our new website at www.openealing.com for full details.
David Highton
Uxbridge Road in West Ealing closed due to shooting
The Uxbridge Road between Culmington Road and Broughton Road is closed this morning (Sunday) following a shooting incident at about 5am this morning.The road is likely to be closed until at least midday. More news when we have it.
Update at 11.10am
Shooting took place at an internet cafe. Three van loads of police have just arrived at the scene so I doubt if the road will be reopened for a while yet.
Update at 1.15pm
The Uxbridge Road has been opened for westbound traffic.