Blues music and more coming up in Ealing soon

As a long-time Blues music fan I’m delighted at the revival of The Ealing Club. The team there have worked so hard to get live blues music back at the home of British Blues Music.  The Ealing Club is still in its original home, now called The Red Room, and is putting on regular music sessions.

This month the Blues nights are the 17th and 31st May:

The Ealing Club

Thursday 17th May

Blues Guitarist ROBIN BIBI + support from the Riotous Brothers. A must for any Blues fan at the Home of British Rhythm and Blues

Thursday 31st May

Louisiana Cajun and Zydeco music arrives to the heart of Ealing with the Creole Brothers.

Tickets at £5. Starts at 8.30pm. Box Office: 07927 965797

In addition, The Drayton Court Hotel continues its regular EELDADDY  music nights with the next session being:

Friday 8th June

S. Townshend, DuBellows and Blushing Bones

DuBellows and Blushing Bones recently appeared at OPEN Ealing so I can recommend them. Go to the Ealing Club website for more information and to buy tickets.

Peacock’s, window cleaning and spending money locally in West Ealing

The possible development site on the corner of the Uxbridge Road and Melbourne Avenue - on a dull and rainy day!

I’ve been trying to find out what’s happening to the now empty Peacock’s store and am told there have been holes drilled down in to the ground to look at the foundations. The view is that it’s testing the strength of the building for building flats above. I’m also told the owner of the store now also owns the empty store next door on the corner of Uxbridge Road and Melbourne Ave.  So, expect to see plans for a redevelopment of this whole corner before long.

Anyway, during my efforts to find out all this I got talking to a guy who cleans many shop windows in West Ealing and who I’ve seen about for years. He was telling me that more and more shops in West Ealing, and mostly those that are part of a chain, are stopping using his services and taking out central contracts with national companies. All of which means the money that was going in to the local economy is now going out of it.

It may only be one small example but multiply it for other services that shops and offices need and you start to build up to a significant amount of money that could be spent locally but looks gradually to be going out of the area. I don’t pretend to know how to stop this but it just struck me again that all of us who live locally need to be aware of the importance of thinking carefully how and where we spend our money. A conscious decision to use local shops and services could be a key factor in whether or not these businesses survive and people keep their jobs.

 

It may have rained but craft market stallholders’ spirits were high!

Music in May – Steven Boyle playing under shelter!

Our second craft market last Saturday was a bit damp with the rain but the general feeling from stallholders was that more people were buying this time. It will take time for people to know the market is there in St James Ave on the first Saturday of the month but there feels to be a gathering momentum and a lot of good will. We had some music and that went down well. I think we need to investigate whether we can get some modest amplification for future music.  We’ll see if we can get more musicians for our next market on 2nd June which is Diamond Jubilee holiday weekend.

You can see photos of the May market on WEN’s website

West Ealing craft market on Saturday and free music on Friday and Saturday lunchtimes

Craft Market on Saturday with free music from 12.45

Saturday (5th May) is the next monthly craft market in West Ealing. The market will be in St James Ave from 10am – 3pm and will have a range of stalls from cosmetics, candles and jewellery to wood turning, toys and leather goods. This time we also have some music at lunchtime with Greenford musician Steven Boyle playing his own songs and some favourites from down the years from 12.45-1.45 and WEN committee member Gill Adams playing folk with some friends from 2-3pm. As before, St James Church will have a stall offering free teas and coffees.  Do please come along and support us and enjoy some free music.

Our website has the full list of stalls – www.westealingneighbours.org.uk

 

OPEN Ealing free music at lunchtime this Friday 12.30-1.30pm

Friday 4th May sees OPEN Ealing’s next regular First Friday music event venture in to the world of Broadway musicals. May’s  free concert at lunchtime from 12.30-1.30  will see OPEN host 3rd year music students from the University of West London playing excerpts from their forthcoming production of Kander and Ebb’s Flora the Red Menace.  Best known for writing the hugely successful musical Cabaret, Flora the Red Menace was the songwriting team of John Kander and Fred Ebb’s first Broadway musical.

There will also be an exhibition of artwork from local art group 4020 on display.

Details at www.openealing.com.  OPEN Ealing is at 113 Uxbridge Rd W5, opposite the fire station.

 

Musicians wanted to play at West Ealing monthly craft market

Having got the monthly craft market up and running last month it would be great if we could add some music to create an atmosphere and a sense of occasion. We may not be able to pay but we can offer local musicians a venue to play and a chance to perform somewhere a bit different. The market is the first Saturday of every month in St James Avenue from 10am-3pm. It’s suitable for acoustic music rather than amplified as there is no power available. If you are interested in playing for an hour sometime on that Saturday please email us at westealingeighbours@gmail.com

Follow the West Ealing Monthly Craft Market on Facebook

You can find out more about our monthly craft market in St James Ave on its just-launched Facebook page –

http://www.facebook.com/pages/West-Ealing-Craft-Market/387521781287733

Stalls for our market on 5th May include The Buttoneer with her jewellery made from buttons to Nick Lazarow’s locally made wood-turned products including candle holders and bowls. The full list is:

  • Cosmetics & toiletries
  • Candles
  • Hand-knitted clothing
  • Greetings Cards
  • Notelets
  • Soft toys
  • Ethnic clothing & accessories
  • Leather goods
  • Woodturning
  • Cakes
  • Swarovski crystal jewellery
  • Button jewellery

 

 

Uncertain future for Waterman’s arts centre in Brentford

There are concerns that the Waterman’s arts centre in Brentford may be relocated as part of a major redevelopment plan for the area. We received this email about these concerns:

‘I would like to alert your members to the uncertain future of Waterman’s in Brentford.   I think several of your members travel to this wonderful, if somewhat austere,  cinema, theatre, bar & restaurant to meet friends and enjoy the films.   Mothers and babies also have special showings as well as other events.   It is a much loved venue amongst people from Ealing, Acton, Brentford, Chiswick, Kew & Richmond and would be a great loss should it move away or be closed down.

The London Borough of Hounslow own the valuable Waterman’s site which they wish to sell off to deveopers.    Watermans would be moved to another site – the council are not being very clear about their exact plans – some think they want to move it to Hounslow which would spell its death knell.

 

Watermans   Brentford development plans on view to public for 3   days this week, 19th 20th & 21st at St Peter’s (behind Morrisons)
 
 

 

See the   latest information on the developer’s site:-http://www.mybrentford.com/brentford2.0/latest#page-top

 

David Highton

Lido Junction work now to start on Monday April 23rd

From Ealing Council ‘Following 11th hour discussions with TfL the Lido junction works have been rescheduled to commence on 23 April 2012 with the total duration of the construction program reduced to 8 weeks. Hopefully, these changes will minimise further the impact on local traffic conditions.’

Poetry evening at Waterstones in Ealing with Michael Horovitz and Pitshanger Poets on Wednesday from 7.30pm

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OPEN Ealing in conjunction with Waterstones in Ealing Broadway Centre present an evening of poetry with ‘beat’ poet Michael Horovitz, word artist Ursula Troche and guest appearances from the members of the Pitshanger Poets.

Tickets £5 (£3 standing) from OPEN and Waterstones. Starts 7.30pm. Call OPEN on 0208 579 5558 or visit Waterstones.

Michael Horovitz is an internationalist polymath, who has edited and published New Departures and coordinated the Poetry Olymics festivals for 50 years (http://www.poetryolympics.com). his magnum opus, A New Waste Land: Timeship Earth at Nillennium, was selected as Book of the year by D.J. Taylor in the Independent as “A deeply felt clarion call from the radical underground”. His artworks and picture-poems continue to be exhibited internationally, and he currently performs in a jazz poetry duo with Stan Tracey, as well as fronting the ebullient William Blake Klezmatrix band.

Paul McCartney has remarked that, “in addition to producing many notable poetic and musical works of his own, Michael Horovitz has worked tirelessly and selflessly over the past five decades to ensure an audience for his contemporaries. He’s lively, he keeps poetry accessible, and more than that… He’s a good laff!” And Margaret Drabble, that “Michael is an original poet, with an original voice. he’s always been an innovator, and is honoured as a free spirit and a creative force throughout the literary world. He also has persistence and stamina. Those of us who heard him upholding the standards of poetry and the praise of of Byron on the BBC ‘Today’ programme were delighted to witness that the hardened ‘Today’ interviewers had met their match. Horowitz is neither diplomat nor politician. He speaks from the heart. He has left an indelible mark on the course of British literature.”

Ursula ‘Equinox’ Troche: Word Artist with a motto: From Identity to Liberation poetry. Has performed at various venues eg. Greenwich Jazz festival, Arts for Human Rights Festival, the Colour of London Festival, Happy Soul Festival. Part of collectives like WAPPY, Theatre for Mankind, The Change Collective, Ibeji, etc. Poetry collections: Embraceable – Notes from Different Places called Home; origins and Other Issues. Performs for International Women’s Day 2012 at Charlton House.

 

Guest poets: From Pitshanger Poets in Ealing: James Priestman, Daphne Gloag, Nick Barth.

Work starts at Lido Junction on Monday

Ealing Council will start work next Monday (16th April) on putting in pedestrian crossings and other changes at the Lido Junction.  This is great news and will make an enormous difference to pedestrian safety for many residents. Nevertheless, please be aware of delays at this junction over the next 10 weeks.

Every effort is being made by the Council and their contractors to plan and progress the works in an efficient and timely manner in order to minimise the impacts on pedestrians, residents and motorists. Signs advising alternative routes for traffic are due to be installed in the coming days and wherever possible work will be scheduled to avoid peak hour traffic flows.

Your patience will be much appreciated whilst the work is being carried out and the end result will be a much, much safer crossing.