Category: David Highton

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Do we need so many betting shops in West Ealing? Time to say no.

I asked this exact same question the last time there was an application for a new betting shop – Betfred on the ground floor of where the new hotel is supposed to be going. Yet, here we are again with William Hill wanting to open a new betting shop at 70 Broadway:

 

I missed this licence application and the closing date for objections has passed but just how many betting shops do we need in West Ealing?  Can we keep leaving it to market forces to determine what happens in our high street or should local residents have a say?

There is an opportunity to have your say about betting shops and other forms of gambling by completing the Council’s online survey as part of its consultation on its gambling policy. Some of the questions are about clustering of betting shops so directly relevant to West Ealing. The online survey closes on September 27th so not much time left to complete it. You can find it here.

I don’t know how much effect these surveys have but if we don’t say anything then silence will be taken as consent to what’s happening. I for one think we should restrict betting shops and other similar establishments, especially those with ‘fruit machines’ and fixed odds betting terminals which are a major route in to problem gambling.  You can find out more about all the issues around gambling at the GamCare website.

 

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My three music highlights from the West Ealing SoundBite Festival

We’ll put up more photos and feedback from SoundBite shortly. On a totally personal note, as I was helping organise the event on Saturday, I didn’t get to see many of the acts but of those few I did see three stand out for very different reasons:

 

Maria at SoundBite

Her father Romeo sang for us last year and this year his daughter Maria sang at the craft market in St James Ave. She stopped everyone in their tracks with her smooth, jazzy singing. Hers is the sort of voice and style of singing that I’d love to listen to late night in a small, intimate venue. A venue like Ronnie Scott’s or perhaps, locally, the Bush Hall in Shepherd’s Bush could work well for her.  Catch her  here on the video of clips from the music at St James Ave and remember this is where you first saw and heard her. She starts 6 minutes in to the video.

I’d been looking forward to the Bollywood Brass Band all day and was beginning to give up hope that I’d manage to get to Dean Gardens for them but i finally caught their last set at 6pm.

Bollywood Brass band

I really enjoy their combination of drumming and brass and their engagement with their audience. You can’t help but feel the energy and joy in their music and that got through to a group of children who got up and danced right in front of the band.

T J 'Holboy" Johnson

Photo copyright Vivien Boyes

My third highlight was TJ ‘Holyboy’ Johnson who I’d been told about so I made sure I got to Melbourne Ave to catch him closing the music there. I wasn’t disappointed and nor was the crowd who were drawn to his Hendrix-style blues guitar playing and driving voice.  I was struck by the cross section of people who, like me, just felt compelled to stand there, soak it up and not miss a minute of his set.

 

 

 

 

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Abundance plum jam on its way for SoundBite Festival

We’ve had a bumper crop of Marjorie Seedling plums this year. Other plum varieties seem to have suffered from last frosts but our tree is fairly well protected so must have avoided the late frosts which hit the blossom and stop any fruit developing. So, it’s been a busy weekend cutting up plums and making jam. The jam has an added ingredient to give it a little bit of a special taste -star anise. I’ve tried it and its delicious – a slightly sharp edge to the plums with a hint of aniseed.

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It will be on sale at the SoundBite Festival on 21st September along with blackberry jam, elderflower cordial, lemon and elderflower marmalade and more.

For all the latest on SoundBite – stalls, bands, children’s entertainment, food follow the SoundBite Facebook page

 

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The Return of Sherlock Holmes to OPEN Ealing

 The Adventure of the Crying Boy and The Adventure of the Creeping Man

I saw this first time round at OPEN Ealing and thorougly enjoyed it. The performance starts with a reading of Conan Doyle’s The Adventure of the Creeping Man and then moves on to Wally Sewell’s specially written drama, The Adventure of the Crying Boy, exploring the relationship between Holmes and Watson. (I still love watching the TV repeats of Jeremy Brett playing Sherlock Holmes. He perfectly captured the edginess of Holmes.)  Anyway, well worth £5 in my view.

The Adventure of the Crying Boy by Wally Sewell in ‘Evenings and afternoons of Sherlock Holmes’ performed by Peter Saracen and Edmund Dehn, directed by Anthony Shrubsall.

It’s on at OPEN Ealing  on Thursday 8th, Friday 9th, Saturday 10th and then Thursday 15th and Friday 16th August at 7.30pm. Matinees on Saturday 10th at 3pm and Friday 16th at 1pm.

Price: £5.00

Wally Sewell says, “As a writer I’ve always been interested in the mythical and the symbolic, and the concept of the unconscious, with its population of monsters swimming in its dark depths has been a constant draw. Representations of it, usually in the form of forests and wild places, are something of a recurring motif in my writing! My first exposure to Sherlock Holmes was having the Hound of the Baskervilles read to me as a school boy. At that stage what caught my imagination more than Holmes’spowers of deduction, was Conan Doyle’s evocation of the moors, haunted by malign spirits and bogs that could swallow up ponies, all observable from the relative civility of Baskerville Hall. I’ve tried to catch something of that spirit in my play.”

His play concerns an impromptu late night meeting between Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson, who is now married and largely absent from Holmes’s life. As their conversation progresses, touching on Holmes’s cocaine addiction, his dalliance with Freud and confessions from childhood, demons pull themselves up through the cracks in the floorboards and out onto the stage.

The play has been well received at its various performances around the fringe, winning praise from members of the Sherlock Holmes Society and at least one professional psychiatrist!

Performed here with a reading of the short story The Adventure of the Creeping Man, the show promises to be an intriguing and engaging evening or afternoon’s entertainment.

NB Not suitable for children.

More details about this and other OPEN Ealing events here.

 

 

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All quiet on the hotel front

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Another occasional update  on the new hotel in West Ealing – nothing’s happening. Having cracked on with the demolition it’s all been quiet for the last 10 days or so. I hope plans are still on schedule as I’m looking forward to Tony Luckhurst’s return in good time for Christmas.

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Your chance to help crowdfund a film about the Ealing Club’s place as ‘The cradle of British Rock’

I’m a big fan of the efforts being made to show just how crucial Ealing was in the birth of British Rhythm and Blues and I’ve taken my first dip in to crowdfunding with this film.  The target is to raise £6,000 by August 25th and as of writing this we’ve raised £963, so pretty good going as it’s only just been launched.


     

Feb 1965: The WHO & Fery Asgari at The Ealing Club 

Suburban Steps to Rockland is a documentary feature film focusing on the the story of the Ealing Club, a small venue in West London, where bands and artists like The Who, The Rolling Stones, Ginger Baker, Jack Bruce, Eric Clapton – just to name a few – started their careers in the early ’60s.

Your chance to support the film and get rewarded for participation

Many Interviews with veteran musicians and leading rock writers have already been completed including:  Bobbie Korner (Wife of Alexis) Don Craine (Downliners Sect) Ali Mackenzie (The Birds) Terry Marshall (co-founder Marshall Amps) John O’Leary (Savoy Brown) Pete Brown (lyricist for Cream)  Tom Newman (co-founder Virgin Records, Ealing Club veteran and Producer of Mike Oldfield’s “Tubular Bells”) Mike Watt (The Minutemen, Iggy Pop and The Stooges) Damian and John O’Neill (The Undertones) Harry Shapiro (Rock Music Biographer) and Paul Trynka (Music Writer).  A special PROMO MOVIE can be viewed at: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ealingclubfilm/suburban-steps-to-rockland

Supporters will receive copies of the completed film, access to exclusive merchandise and LIVE EVENTS being planned (please see Kickstarter for details) 

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Apply now for next round of the alley-gating scheme

I know there can often be problems with back alleys being used by burglars or just being used as a dumping ground for rubbish so I thought I’d pass on the details of the Council’s alley-gating scheme. In an advert in today’s Gazette it says that residents can apply to have alleys gated by the Council. Applications can be made from 1st to 30th August and you contact the safer communites team on 020 8825 7757 or email them at gating@ealing.gov.uk

 

 

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West Ealing Business Hub project to continue to next stage

West Ealing Hub Project Continues

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The West Ealing Hub Working Group has conducted a study to assess the feasibility of a coworking space in West Ealing over a three month period from April to July 2013. The study is now complete! Over 250 people input their ideas and comments to inform the final study. We would like to say thank you to everyone who has contributed.

 

Our research has shown that there is awareness in West Ealing that the area is changing. The hub idea was received with great enthusiasm, and many local people indicated that they would like to take an active part in developing an inspiring business coworking space on the high street.

 

We looked at various business models of coworking spaces and hubs all over London to find a model that would work best for West Ealing. The feasibility study found that there was a case to be made and a solid foundation to take forward the future enterprise.

 

A new operational group chaired by David Highton will be looking further into developing the right business model.

 

The West Ealing Hub Feasibility Study was supported by resources secured from Ealing Council’s High Street Innovation Fund and Riot Recovery funds.

West Ealing Hub Working Group

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Keep an eye on this space in Leeland Road

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The Santa Rita café (on the left) has been closed for a while and rumour has it that this site is to be redeveloped and flats built above. Not necessarily a bad thing but with local house prices climbing ever higher, partly driven by Crossrail, there is likely to be more and more of these infill-type developments.