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Northfields Spring Night Market on Saturday 21st March 6.30-9pm

We all had a fabulous time at the recent Northfields Christmas Night Market and it’s now time to start planning for our Northfields Spring Night Market!

Once again we will be bringing amazing local businesses together; providing gift inspiration, hand-crafted pressies, wonderful food and the great Northfields community atmosphere. Live music from JSMG Band and Love2Sing Choir (yep entry is free)!

We are very lucky that the wonderful Kingsdown Methodist Church has an all weather hall & arena, so not even rain can stop us.

Date: Saturday 21 March

Time: 6.30 – 9.0pm
Address: Kingsdown Methodist Church Hall, Kingsdown Ave, W13 9PR

Fab participating businesses:

The Fields Café, Tropic Skincare, Mind Body & Story (Barefoot Books), The Giggle Company, Miss B, Ealing Privilege Card, Cheeky Chutneys, Blue Feather Book Designs, Vanilla Frost Cakes, Boho City, Bell Eames W13 Jessica Rose Fine Art, Denalis Jewellery, Desi Baker Artisan bread, ElSilver (silver Jewellery), Knitted items Popcorn Box, Lazarow Wood Turning, RosyRosie, Spice Magic, Emy and Julie, Sargasso Shoes, Fabulous Fudge Natural Fragrance Company Ltd, Smallprint Jewellery, Forever Living, Spinning Tops, Nella Catering, Garden Shed Designs, Make it Mimi, Mano Creations (Jewellery), EE’s Cosmetics, Powerfoods (Northfields Pharmacy). Pampered Chef, Gala Bebe, Kristina Uffe Photography, Fairly Amy, Mother and Child Homeopath, Truali, Imagethirst Photography, Coopers Beans & Leaves, Mobytek

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Time to review traffic plans for West Ealing

SherwoodClose

If you live in the roads near the Sherwood Close Estate (shown on the map) then you may well have had a green coloured leaflet through your letterbox yesterday.  It’s about the traffic access arrangements for the redevelopment of the Sherwood Close Estate. It’s worth taking a few minutes to read it and think about the issues it raises and whether these concern you.

Access to the new development was always going to be tricky as most of the nearby roads such as Seaford Rd and Westfield are narrow and heavily parked up on both sides.  It’s already difficult for delivery lorries to get round these roads.  Our worry is that the access plans for the new estate do little to improve this.  With an increase in homes of some 100 or so, which means about 200-250 new residents on the redeveloped estate, logic says there will be more deliveries.  Yet, access to the estate from the north or south will still have to be via the existing narrow streets or, to be precise given the current road system, via Westfield Road and then along Glenfield Terrace, Bonchurch Road or Milford Road.  Access from the east and west should be better as there will be a new road off Tawny Close.

We feel there is a good case for a careful review of the traffic routes and traffic flows in this whole sector of West Ealing – from Leighton Road in the south to the Uxbridge Road in the north and from Seaford Road in the east to Grosvenor Road/ Seward Road in the west. We think it’s important not to make a decision about access to the Sherwood Close Estate in isolation from already residents’ concerns about traffic problems that already worry people living in these streets.   We say, let’s step back and take a good look at this whole area and avoid piecemeal decisions.

The leaflet gives details of who to contact if you have concerns about this.  These include the three Walpole Ward councillors who cover the area concerned. You can find them here.

 

 

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West Ealing post office likely to move

I just thought it would be useful to flag this up for information. The post office in Leeland Road is looking to move round the corner to the Uxbridge Road to where the wet fish shop/shoe repairer/ Caribbean food shop used to be. The planned move is part of a national modernisation programme. The new branch will be of modern open plan design with longer opening hours, same products and services with addition of car tax. It will also be open all day Saturday whereas it now shuts at 12.30pm on Saturdays. There is a 6-week consultation which ends on 16th April. Comments can be made online at postofficeviews.co.uk and you need to quote their branch number 125006. If it all goes through the new branch will open June/July. The form has full details of opening hours etc.

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Salvation Army shop in West Ealing needs volunteers

The Salvation Army needs volunteers to help in their West Ealing shop:

‘Do you have a day/few hours a week spare? Available on a Monday or Saturday?
Want to do some volunteering in a charity shop (the Salvation Army charity shop, Leeland Road, West Ealing, W13 9HH) We are a friendly happy bunch, but are short staffed and really need some reliable volunteers. Please Email :- Nicola.joyce@salvationarmy.org.uk ‘

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Weekly street food market coming to Ealing Broadway from Friday 2th Feb

I read about this on Ealing Today and it sound brilliant and, even better, it’s organised by an Ealing resident – Kate McKenzie.  She’s organising a street food market every Friday in the Ealing Broadway shopping centre.  Kate is clearly very passionate about street food markets and it sounds a great idea and well worth a visit. It starts on Friday 27th February and runs weekly until Friday 17th April and this is just the start. She’s already thinking about a monthly weekend market.

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1 to 1 business advice and more at Ealing Town Hall Weds 25th February

Ealing Means Business
Ealing town hall, 9-5pm, 25 February 2015

Come and say hi at the ‘Ealing Means Business’ event. Ealing Blueprint will have a stall at this year’s ‘Ealing Means Business’ event at Ealing town hall from 9am-5pm on Wednesday 25 February 2015.

This free business event will have 1 to 1 advice sessions, exhibitions, seminars and networking, so why not come down and see what it has to offer.

To register your free place, visit: www.ealingmeansbusiness.co.uk

Don’t forget to pop down to Chat&Meet @Ealing Blueprint, 13 Drayton Green Road, West Ealing. We are open Tuesday – Saturday, 8.30am – 5.30pm for hot desking, meetings, seminars and coffee!

Many thanks,

The Ealing Blueprint Community

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32-storey tower block proposed for North Acton

I saw this story of the Ealing Today website and it almost took my breath away. This development is planned on the ‘island site’ at Gypsy Corner on the Western Avenue at North Acton.  The full plan is  for eight tower blocks, one of 32-storeys, giving 764 flats and some 4,800 sq m of commercial space.  I worked on a part of this site for some 20 years when a lot of it was various BBC buildings including scenic stores, visual effects and rehearsal rooms.  Indeed, the BBC Rehearsal Rooms opposite the station was, at some eight storeys or so, by far the tallest building on the site.  Most were one or two storey old style office blocks or warehouses. I happened to go back there last week to look at some furniture in The Perfume Factory in Wales Farm Road, which used to be the Elizabeth Arden factory, and I was amazed then by how much this whole site has changed.  But this plan with its 32-storey tower is, well, just remarkable.  I can see some of the commercial logic as it’s right by North Acton tube station and a 10-minute walk from the planned Crossrail station at Acton Main Line.  I guess it’s an extreme example of how much of Ealing is changing with the huge pressure for more housing. Whether all these new flats will actually alter the nature of this area much will be interesting to see. There were very few shops in the area as it’s right on the edge of the Park Royal Estate but maybe that will change with so many people moving in. I’d be interested to know how the Coumcil will ensure there is sufficient healthcare and educational provision for all these new residents.

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Pilot business hub launched in West Ealing

Having been involved in the initial feasibility study for a business hub in West Ealing I was delighted to go to last night’s launch of  Ealing Blueprint – a pilot business hub working with the Chat and Meet coffee shop. Ealing Blueprint will run a free hub in the heart of West Ealing for a five month period from 4 February 2015 to test the hub model. I think this has great potential for West Ealing.  Here’s a bit of background from Blueprint’s website:

‘The Ealing Blueprint business hub is inspired by the success of coworking spaces in central London, and will enable entrepreneurs, sole traders, freelancers or start-ups to work alongside one another in a collaborative atmosphere. Creative people can work flexibly in a modern and stimulating environment where ideas can be shared and enterprises thrive. Working independently should not mean working alone.

Located in West Ealing, a 3-minute walk from West Ealing station and many bus routes, the business hub is easy to access. Within the shared working space is Chat & Meet a coffee shop that will manage the hub on a day-to-day basis and will provide the opportunity to grab a coffee and have a chat with those around you. ‘

Opening hours: Tuesday to Saturday, 8.30am to 5.30pm (4 February – 27 June 2015)
Location: Chat & Meet @ Ealing Blueprint, 13 Drayton Green Road, West Ealing, London W13 0NG

Last night’s meeting was also the first anniversary of the Ealing Business Forum which invited high-street expert Bill Grimsey to give his views on the future of high streets in the 21st century. I greatly enjoyed his talk and it offered some compelling arguments for a radical new approach to how we should use our high streets.  I’ll put the highlights from his talk in a separate post.

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Barn Dance on Saturday and still time to see 4.48 Psychosis at Questors

These two events are a bit of a contrast but both worth knowing about:

The annual Barn Dance at St James Church is on this Saturday from 6-9.30pm.  It’s great fun and the tickets are only £5 for an adult, £2.50 for a child and a family ticket for four is £12.  Plus you get a hot dog and popcorn thrown in with the ticket.  The music comes from The West London Folk Band. Tickets available from either St James’ Church on 020 8840 2586 or St John’s 020 8566 3507.

4.48 Psychosis is on at Questors until Saturday.  I saw it on Tuesday and was very impressed with how this play was staged.  Here’s the information I wrote about the play for a previous post plus a brief review:

‘The Sunday Times has picked out the Sarah Kane season at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre as one of its ‘ hottest picks’ for 2015.  However, you don’t need to go to Sheffield to experience Sarah Kane’s talent and reflect on the loss to the theatre of her suicide at just 28.  Ealing’s Questors Theatre has Sarah Kane’s 4.48 Psychosis on later this month.  It describes the play as follows:

A rhythm of raw beauty – vivid and imaginative theatre

“Here am I
and there is my body
dancing on glass”

With its powerful use of the most beautiful and poetic language we are drawn into the pained world of Kane herself at one moment in time: 4.48am. Sarah Kane’s masterpiece is theatre as a text for performance rather than a play. It is about love and about survival and about hope.

Several weeks after completing the play, at the age of 28, Sarah Kane committed suicide leaving this her masterwork – an affirmation to live rather than a suicide note.

This production will be an unforgettable experience – an evening of vivid visual theatre, raw and beautiful.’

Suitable for ages 16+
Contains disturbing adult themes and smoke

Details of tickets etc here

Review

‘I saw this play last night and was very impressed with what is an extremely difficult play to stage. There are no named characters, no specific voices given to any character and no indication of how many performers or of any gender.  Having said that I thought Questors put on a powerful and inspiring performance. An abiding memory of the play is the stark staging and dissonant music which caught the fractured mood of the mind of what I take to be the central character.  It’s interesting that the music changed to something much more melodic right at the very end.

For me, the play gave great insight in to the mind of someone with serious depression and the mood swings, the darkness, anger and humour that flickers like a faulty light.  Questors staged Sarah Kane’s play with an all female cast with some strong performances and is well worth seeing.’