Author: David

David has lived in West Ealing since 1978 ,has been an allotment holder on the Northfield Ave site since 2000 and chair of West Ealing Neighbours since its early days. He is most interested in finding solutions to problems whether its rubbish on the streets, improved pedestrian safety at the Lido Junction or how we can keep the shopping centre as the heart of our community. He recently helped set up West Ealing Arts and its OPEN Ealing community arts project.
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Shooting in West Ealing last night – two people injured

Update

The Uxbridge Road is still  closed this Sunday morning  (12noon) following a shooting last night somewhere around the post office/Daniels store area. Over a year ago there was another shooting in the same area near an internet cafe.   The Ealing Today website has the story as a gang shooting with two people injured but no one killed. More news to follow.

11pm Sunday

BBC News site says four people arrested following this shooting. It seems one man was shot during a fight and another hurt with both being taken to hospital but neither with life-threatening injuries.

2pm Monday

The problem seems to have been an argument between two groups at some late night event that got out of control. I guess the obvious question has to be who on earth turns up at a party or similar armed with a gun and why?

10pm Monday

Quite a lot more information, including a message from the police, on the Acton W3 forum

 

 

 

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Creative Ealing launched – bringing together information about what’s happening in the creative arts in Ealing

I went to the launch last night of Creative Ealing, a consortium of creative arts venues in Ealing working together to publicise and promote the work of the four founding local arts venues – The Questors Theatre, The Ealing Club, OPEN Ealing and The Drayton Court Hotel. I was involved in the development of this idea when I was with OPEN Ealing and I’m delighted to see it come to fruition.

Back in the summer, what set me thinking about the need for arts venues to co-operate was my regular walk to do the banking in Ealing Broadway. On my way there I walked past the two new hotels being built almost opposite one another in the Uxbridge Road – Travelodge and Premier Inn (plus the nearby Hotel Xanadu in Bond Street). I wondered how guests would know what entertainment was on locally. What could they go and see or do that day or evening? The answer seemed to be they wouldn’t easily find out this information. There didn’t seem to be any central website or publicity that listed what arts events were happening in Ealing that day or that week. Out of these bank visits came the idea of arts venues in central Ealing joining together to create this central website and joint publicity. And so Creative Ealing was born out of discussions between these founding venues and now it’s real and you can find its website here 

I hope this is but the start of  Creative Ealing’s journey and, as it gains recognition as a key source of information about what’s happening in the arts in Ealing, other venues will join and a momentum will gather to create an ever more informative site.

The launch of Creative Ealing follows hot on the heels of the launch of The Ealing Music and Film Valentine Festival. From the 14th to the 17th February next year a really exciting looking series of events, concerts, talks and exhibitions will be put on at various arts venues in central Ealing. Highlights for me include blues music at The Ealing Club and Raga Jam at The Questors. There’s something for everyone and it’s another welcome initiative for the arts in Ealing.

 

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Dina the donkey is coming to town! – ‘Nativity in the Market’ this Saturday from 12.30. Come along and enjoy the moment.

Come along with your family this Saturday (15th December) to meet Dina, a real live donkey, in the Nativity in the Market, organised by St James Church. Dina and the nativity players will start off their tour of West Ealing in Dean Gardens at around 12.15pm, make their way to visit the farmers’ market in Leeland Road for 12.30, then donkey willing, a walk around the streets and on to Melbourne Ave for around 1.45pm. In Melbourne Ave the players will perform the first part  of the nativity play before their final stop in St James Ave and the craft market for 2.15pm where they will complete their performance. Everyone can join in and take part in this family event, sing carols and take part to celebrate and enjoy being part of our local community.

 

Also this week at the craft market in St James Avenue will be a local opera singer who will start off in Sylvester’s barbershop just round the corner, the Westside performers from the nearby youth club and ancient carols with local voices and instruments. More details on this blog.

 

 

 

 

 

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More back garden development? – proposed changes to planning laws over back garden extensions

One of WEN’s members is keen to raise awareness  about the government’s proposed changes to planning laws to allow larger back garden extensions without needing permission. It’s a topic that’s certainly got a number of local councils stirred up and could affect local residents.

He writes  ‘The government plans to change Planning laws so that your neighbour can build a 6-metre extension 4 metres high without needing any permission from anyone – least of all from you.

This may be fine for cabinet ministers who live in spacious areas. But 80% of us live incities, where small gardens provide most of the green space. In our terrace, the back gardens are 12 metres long. Half your neighbour’s garden gone – perhaps on both sides of you? Plus separate outbuildings, if they choose? And you’ll get no protection from Planning laws that used to protect you from overbearing, dominating, character-destroying developments. The government wants this to happen!

The government’s consultation period ends 24 December. We need all our friends across the country to say what they think of this proposal. You can reply online at this location:

www.communities.gov.uk/publications/planningandbuilding/extendingpdrconsultation

or you can write to Helen Marks via e-mail:

PlanningImprovements@communities.gsi.gov.uk

or on paper:

Helen Marks

Permitted Development Rights – Consultation

Department for Communities and Local Government

Zone 1/J3 Eland House

Bressenden Place

London SW1E 5DU

Tell your MP and David Cameron and Eric Pickles what you think. And get your friends across the country to do the same – or we could all find ourselves in concrete jungles.’

Download this page at kevinraftery.net/attack.pdf

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Great session by local band Jacob and Goliath at last Saturday’s West Ealing craft market

Cover photo

I managed to catch some of Jacob and Goliath’s session at Saturday’s craft market and was mighty impressed with this young local band.  A great new addition to West London’s alternative/indie folk music scene.  Three of the  band members braved the cold, blew on their icy guitar picking fingers and really put their hearts in to their music. Lead singer Jacob Simpson has got a very striking voice and already has an impressive stage presence. You can see a recording of a part of their session at the market on a later post on this blog. Watch out for them and find out where they’re playing next on their Facebook page. 

Next Saturday we have carols, local folk band Oddfellas and the dynamic gospel choir Singology- more information on the next post down on this blog.

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Talking West Ealing: join us for a coffee tomorrow morning, visit our Christmas craft market and enjoy some live music

If there’s anything in West Ealing you want to talk to us about or ask us you’re very welcome to come and have a coffee with some of the commitee members this Saturday morning at Silva Cafe on the Uxbridge Road opposite Kwik Fit. We’ll be there from 11.30-12.30. There’s a lot of ideas buzzing about on how to make the high street better and many of us are very worried about plans to shut the A&E dept at Ealing Hospital and what that means for us all. We’d love to hear your views and ideas on these and anything else about what’s happening in West Ealing.

And don’t forget, you can get your Christmas shopping off to a great start at the first of our Christmas craft markets in St James Ave on Saturday morning accompanied by some top class live music from 12 noon. See here for the details of the music.

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Woolies needs some TLC

The old Woolworths building is a great local example of art deco but it’s getting in a sorry state. There appears to be a tree growing out of its roof and some of the façade is beginning to look unsafe. Is anyone interested in joining us to try to get this building looked after properly? If so, email us at westealingneighbours@gmail.com or join us at our next Saturday morning coffee at Silva Café (opposite Kwik Fit) from 11.30 – 12.30 on Saturday 1st December. 

More photos of this lovely building are in the gallery on our website.

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The less desirable W13 or an undervalued pocket?

It’s always interesting to read about how others view the area you live in and that’s the case with this week’s Evening Standard review of property in Ealing. The article is mostly about the W5 postcode but W13 gets a mention or two. It is seen as less desirable than W13 though I might be living in an ‘undervalued pocket’ on the Hanwell borders – not sure about that!

Anyway, worth 5 minutes if you’re interested in property prices and how Ealing is seen by others.

 

 

 

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Are our streets getting cleaner? Are the rubbish collections getting better?

If there’s one issue that gets most of us steamed up, along with parking problems, it’s dirty streets. The Council changed contractors in April and most of us remember all the teething problems over missed rubbish collections. Tomorrow night (Thursday 15th) the Council is reviewing how Enterprise is performing. Do you think they are getting better after a very shaky start?

My own view is that the rubbish and recycling collections have improved and round us are pretty reasonable now. What is not yet back up to the previous contractor’s standard is sweeping the side streets. In West Ealing the busy areas get swept regularly but the side streets are hit and miss and some appear to be swept hours before the weekly rubbish collections.

One of my bugbears is rubbish getting dumped by Council bins and then getting strewn across the place by birds and animals. This isn’t the Council’s fault at all and it gets cleaned away every day but it does make the place look uncared for.

There’s a fuller story on the Ealing Today website and the Council report for tomorrow’s meeting is here 

 

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Annual West Ealing Arts & Crafts Fair on Saturday 10am-4pm at St James Church

Come and start your Christmas shopping at our annual Arts & Crafts Fair. More stalls than ever this year, there will be a wide range of original art, crafts amd specialist goods from local arists and craftspeople including:

  • African art
  • Christmas decorations
  • Cushions, blankets and quilts
  • Glasswork
  • Greetings cards
  • Handbags and purses
  • Jams, chutneys, honey and olive oils
  • Scarves
  • Watercolours and acrylics
  • Wood-turning

Admission is free. Hot & cold food and drinks served including a wide variety of home-made cakes.

St James Church, St James Ave (by entrance to Sainsbury’s car park). 10am – 4pm.