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Please stop dumping rubbish in Melbourne Ave… again

 

 

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Above: Flytipping on Thursday morning

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Above: Flytipping on Saturday morning

Saturday morning and yet another dumped bed plus a microwave for company this time.

 

(Thursday morning: I couldn’t believe my eyes this morning when I saw a bed base and mattress dumped on the little patch of grass on the corner of Melbourne Ave and Leeland Terace.  Almost every single morning I see rubbish dumped here, mostly next to the Council bin. It’s normally cleared away very quickly as part of the regular bin emptying round but this was the final straw!  We had a pile of wooden shelves dumped there a week or so ago and now this bed.  I’ve reported it to the Council and I’m sure it will be cleared away very quickly.  My complaint is absolutely not with the Council. In my experience they are very good at clearing away fly tipping once it’s been reported.  My complaint is with whoever dumps this and just doesn’t care about our neighbourhood. Please stop dumping your rubbish and get the Council to collect it or take it to the Greenford recycling centre.)

 

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Big Picnic in Dean Gardens on Sunday 1st June 12noon – 2pm – everyone welcome

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Big Picnic 2013

 

I’m keeping my fingers crossed that we manage to see some sunshine on Sunday for the second Big Picnic in Dean Gardens.  Last year we had good weather as you can see from the photo above – so here’s hoping we’re lucky again. As last year, it’s open to everyone and please bring along your lunch and just enjoy the day. It’s a chance to meet old friends, make new friends and just have an enjoyable time. There will be live music, information stalls and a variety of activities – more information to follow.

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West Ealing swings to Labour

Looking at the four wards that cover most of West Ealing there has been a clear swing to Labour in the 2014 local election.  The most striking being Walpole which went from being all Conservative for the last two elections to now being all Labour. Northfields remains all Conservative whilst Elthorne which had one Labour, one Conservative and one Liberal Democrat is now all Labour. Lastly, Cleveland has gone from all Conservative to only one Conservative and two Labour. In all, Labour considerably increased its majority on the Council with the Conservatives falling by half from 24 to 12 councillors and the Liberal Democrats lost one councillor, Nigel Bakhai,  on the Elthorne ward.

You can find the full results for all the wards here -but the site is running rather slowly at the moment.

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Pop-Up market in front of Sainsbury’s West Ealing today and Friday

There will be a pop-up market in Melbourne Ave by Sainsbury’s from 11am -4.30pm today and tomorrow (Thursday and Friday).  It’s backed by the newly established West Ealing Business Improvement District and is part of the ‘Love Your Local Market Campaign’.

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Do please come along on one of the days and have a look. I know there’s a stall selling vintage inspired dresses and on Friday we will have our Abundance stall there selling the first of this year’s delicious elderflower cordial along with apple juice, lemon and elderflower marmalade and more locally sourced and made products.

 

 

 

 

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Irish dancing, plant swaps and more

I’m always surprised just how much is happening in and around our neighbourhood. Here’s a couple of local activties and events that give just a hint of what’s going on locally:

Irish Dancing

The O’Sullivan School of Irish Dancing has places now available. Classes for children from 5yrs . Classes on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

All standards welcome, (Beginners to Champion)

Contact: Deirdre O’Sullivan, 07956 346383

deirdreosullivan@hotmail.co.uk

 

Plant Swap at The Quaker House on Sunday 1st June 1-3pm

Lots and Lots of Plants in Pots

17, Woodville Road
W5 2SE

Sunday, June 1st 2014
1.00pm–3.00pm

Sow some–Grow some
Bring some,
Take some home.

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Launch of alternative rock guitar orchestra – Sat 24th May 2pm

An exciting new music project in Ealing. AN ALTERNATIVE ROCK GUITAR ORCHESTRA! With drums, bass and keyboards. DEVELOP YOUR GUITAR SKILLS AND GET EXPERIENCE PLAYING WITH SESSION MUSICIANS: Then perform and record what you’ve learnt. Playing various musical styles including: rock, blues, soul, well known tunes and original material.

Rehearse once a week for 10 weeks, then perform and record in the Ealing area. 

*Mandolin, harp,banjo, double bass, electric bass and uke players also welcome; as are any other instrumentalists. 

LAUNCH MEETING: Saturday 24th May. 2pm until 5PM

If you’re interested in finding out more about the guitar orchestra, there will be a meeting on Saturday 24th of May. Bring a guitar with you and join in with the music.  There will be a discussion and Q and A session about the summer season of rehearsals. Most importantly there will be a chance to make some music with other attendees/orchestra members and the orchestra leaders; Nev Hawkins and Richard Carter. If you’d like to attend, contact Nev Hawkins.

Rehearsals start on Saturday 31st of May, 2pm – 5pm. Then continue every Saturday until the 26th  July.

Performance date:  26th July.

Venue: Contact Nev Hawkins for venue details.

If you’d like to attend, contact Nev Hawkins for venue details and more info. 
tel: 07906 328 273/ 0208 621 3336
email:nevhawkins@yahoo.co.uk

Recording session date: TBC

*for intermediate to advanced players. 

Membership Fees for summer season: £200

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Six more short plays at OPEN Ealing on Friday 9th May 7.30pm

SIX short plays 6

 

Open Ealing 6 short plays
Our sixth evening of SIX short plays is on this Friday 9th May, 7.30pm.

Six performed readings by playwrights Polly Churchill, Simone Marsha James, Sally Sheringham, Liam O’Grady and Wally Sewell, performed by Mary Drake and Jane Sheraton.

Prepared on the day and served fresh for your delectation in the evening!

OPENShop, 13 Drayton Green Road, W13 0NG.

£5 on the door.
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Drop in to the OPEN Ealing shop for a chat and a first-class cup of coffee

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The OPEN Ealing shop in Drayton Green Road has been transformed in to a bright and relaxing cafe, open from Monday-Saturday 10am-4.30pm.  Working in partnership with OPEN Ealing Geoff and Gita have created a lovely space with the aim of giving people the chance to drop in for a first class cup of coffee or tea and have a chat with them or whoever happens to be there at the time.  I’ve dropped in twice and bumped in to people I know and had a thoroughly enjoyable half hour. It’s got the potential to be just the sort of community hub and meeting place West Ealing needs.

In the evenings OPEN Ealing will be continuing with its arts activities and events, so it’s great to see the shop being put to good use all times of day.

What is more, Geoff and Gita really care about the quality of their tea and coffee so have sourced some of the very best for you to drink.  Do drop in if you’re nearby and try it out.

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The Grosvenor packed for its opening night

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A group of us went for dinner to The Grosvenor on its opening last night (Tuesday).  We expected it to be busy but it was packed- luckily we had booked a  table.  The decoration, inside and outside, has been carefully thought through with the highlight colour being the green from its stained glass.  It’s interesting how they have refurbished it with many original features retained.  They have created a very pleasant atmosphere which worked well both when it was packed out last night and at luchtime today when we dropped in for a drink and lunch when it was much quieter, though a steady trickle of people dropped in, perhaps curious to see what it looks like.

I’m very wary of attempting to review its food as the first night was a bit of a dry-run to see how it all worked.  Even so, I can say that all six of us thoroughly enjoyed our food and would very definitely go again.  We also all thought the staff in the dining area did a great job with a real sense of enjoyment and that helps create a very pleasant experience.

A lot of thought has been put in to the refurbishment and the owners have put in a hefty investment to transform this once run-down pub.  The choice of colours works well, the stained glass windows are now a stand out feature and the tables in the dining area have been cleverly set up at various angles, and not too close together, to avoid any sense of being jammed together.  All in all, I’d definitely recommend you go and try it for yourself.  It’s got off to a fantsastic start and has the potential to be a great success and an asset to our local community and beyond.  I wish it every success and we will certainly be going back soon.

Details of booking a table etc are on their website

 

 

 

 

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Crossrail at West Ealing: highlights of last week’s public meeting

The full report of last week’s public meeting about Crossrail, attended by some 200 people,  is on the West Ealing Centre Neighbourhood Forum site.   Here’s a brief summary of the key points:

  • No detailed plan yet for the new station at West Ealing and some questions raised on its exact location in Manor Road
  • Ealing Council is not happy with the initial design for Ealing Broadway station so has appointed architects to help on designs for all five Crossrail stations in the borough
  • A strong desire at the meeting for step-free access to the new station  from the south/high street side
  • A strong desire at the meeting to see the area surrounding the station redeveloped
  • Can something be done to make Jacob’s Ladder better and accessible to wheelchair users and parents with buggies?  This will cost a lot of money. How can it be raised?
  • No detail yet on car parking, dropping off or cycle bays

Seems almost everything is still to play for and WECNF will organise another meeting when there is definite information available.