Working together to make West Ealing a better place for residents, businesses and visitors.
Just noticed that Peacocks has shut down in the high street. Dean on the flower stall said it shut down suddenly on Friday. I know it’s been bought by Edinburgh Woollen Mill and some stores are likely to close down permanently. I hope the West Ealing store is just shut temporarily as it will be a loss to West Ealing let alone to everyone who was working there.
Tucked away almost out of sight at the top of the building at 2 St James Ave that backs on to Sainsbury’s is a new gym – Just Add Exercise. I wanted to find out more about it as it’s right at the top of my road and I was curious about its seemingly sudden appearance!
I met Matt Hook the owner and he was kind enough to show be round and explain his plans. At its heart is a gym area with a range of equipment from spinning bikes and treadmills to resistance machines with weights plus all sorts of other equipment to get you toned and fit. He offers a personal training service along with nutrition and weight loss advice, sports massage and physiotherapy.
Sitting alongside the gym is a 1,000 sq ft area for various exercise classes and, interestingly, drama. For as well as exercise this space hosts The Artists Theatre School on Saturdays when drama classes are run for all age groups. The Artists School was founded by Amanda Redman and classes are given by professional working artists.
Matt explained that it the gym is in part of what was once the Primary Care Trust offices above Sainsbury’s but some 3,000 sq ft had become vacant a while back. This is well over twice the space at his previous gym in Ealing Broadway and obviously allowed him to expand his services. It has taken him a while to complete negotiations for this space but even after being open for barely a week it felt well established.
Peak gym membership is £18.50 a month and personal training is in addition. There are regular Pilates classes run by Pilates Corps. They offer classes Mondays to Thursdays at a range of times across the day and the classes cost between £8 and £12 depending on how many you book and seniors (which probably now includes me!) get a discount.
So, welcome to West Ealing and more information can be found on their website – www.ealingpersonaltraining.co.uk or call 020 8567 8577
OPEN Ealing is launching its fundraising campaign for its move to premises in the heart of West Ealing with a night of stand-up comedy on Friday 2nd March from 7.30pm. There are three stand-up acts and it promises to be a great night. Full details at www.openealing.com. Tickets are £10 and call to reserve your tickets on 020 8579 5558
We’re holding our Annual General Meeting tomorrow (Tuesday 21st) at OPEN Ealing from 7.30pm. We’re looking for your help in shaping how WEN develops over the next few years. I wrote a piece for this month’s newsletter:
OPEN Ealing launches its first ever OPEN Poetry evening on Wednesday 15 February 2012, 8pm
A reading with SJ Fowler, Christodoulos Makris, Marcus Slease and Cherry Smyth, plus OPEN-mic session.
In what we hope will be the first of a regular poetry series at OPEN Ealing, join us for an evening of readings from our guest poets – and yourselves. Everyone is welcome to come along, whether to perform or simply listen. Admission is free.
SJ Fowler (www.sjfowlerpoetry.com) is the author of three poetry collections, Red Museum (Knives, Forks and Spoons Press, 2011), Fights (Veer Books, 2011) and Minimum Security Prison Dentistry (AAA, 2011). He is the UK poetry editor of Lyrikline and 3:AM Magazine. He is a full-time employee of the British Museum and a postgraduate student at the Contemporary Centre for Poetic Research, University of London.
Christodoulos Makris is the author of the collection Spitting Out the Mother Tongue (Wurm Press, 2011) and the chapbook Round the Clock (Wurm Press, 2009). A chapbook / artist’s book with title Muses Walk – his contribution to the project ‘An Inventory of Al-Mutanabbi Street’ – is due out in March. He was Dublin regional editor for Succour magazine, and ran the Poetry Upfront series of readings and events in north Co Dublin. For more go to http://yesbutisitpoetry.blogspot.com
Marcus Slease was born in Portadown, N. Ireland in 1974. His latest publications are from Smashing Time (MIPOesias Chapbook Series, 2012), Hello Tiny Bird Brain (Knives Forks and Spoons, 2011), Balloons (Deadwood Press, 2011), and Godzenie (BlazeVOX, 2009). He has lived all over the world including: Seoul Korea, Katowice Poland, Greensboro North Carolina, Ogden Utah, Seattle Washington, Ankara Turkey, and Milton Keynes England. His current home is in London where he teaches English as a foreign language. He blogs at Never Mind the Beasts: www.marcusslease.blogspot.com
Cherry Smyth’s debut poetry collection When the Lights Go Up was published by Lagan Press in 2001. A pamphlet, The Future of Something Delicate was published by Smith/Doorstop in 2005, and a second poetry collection, One Wanted Thing, was published in 2006. Her stories have appeared in several anthologies, including The Anchor Book of New Irish Writing (2000) and Scealta: Short Stories by Irish Women (Telegram, 2006). She lives in London. See more at www.cherrysmyth.com
OPEN Ealing, 113 Uxbridge Road (opposite the fire station and on the corner with Culmington Road)
Tel: 0208 579 5558
Website: www.openealing.com
We held the fourth Joint Action Group meeting today – this note summarises the up to date situation.
Since the earlier JAG meetings that started after the incidents in September, there has been considerable activity as we have previously reported. We are now entering the phase where Dean Gardens is being rehabilitated into “day-to-day policing” rather than the “special measures” that we have seen. This does not mean that the Police and Council eyes will be taken off the ball, but rather that we need to use our resources appropriately.
The police, council, and charities will continue to work closely together. Patrols will continue to be made around the local retail outlets, off-licences and cafés in the area to ensure that there is minimum temptation – particularly in relation to alcohol consumption. ASBOs will continue to be put to the courts (already a considerable number have been put in front of the courts and more are to follow). These will curtail the known irresponsible troublemakers and the new ones on whom intelligence has been built since the intense joint action programme started. The JAG meetings will continue – but will be held less frequently.
In summary: Dean Gardens is being rehabilitated and is returning to normality as a safer place, day and night, a green space in West Ealing that is a central part of our neighbourhood. As I have said before, of course we cannot guarantee this and therefore as residents we must all continue to watch and help. If you are aware of any anti-social behaviour or drug related incident, you can report it by ringing 101 (this number is for all calls to the police other than emergencies – for which please ring 999). 101 will get you through to the Metropolitan Police who will pass the details to a duty officer in Ealing for collation by our intelligence team.
If you have any additional queries, you can contact our local Walpole Police SNT on 020 8721 2949 or email me at patrickchapman@btconnect.com.
Thank you.
Patrick Chapman, Walpole SNT Focus Panel Chair 27th January 2011
Months ago I wrote about subscribing to Claire Rosser’s Hanwell-based W7emporium monthly cheese service. Shortly after that Brent opened Cheddar Deli in Northfield Ave and, blow me, we now have two fabulous local cheese suppliers. That’s pretty good going for West Ealing/Hanwell.
I’ve subscribed to Claire’s monthly delivery service since it started and it’s always a pleasure to open up the neatly packed paper bag with its cheese selection. Last week we got six cheeses including the delicious St Nectaire from the Auvergne. I’m half way through the Bleu D’Auvergne and my wife has eaten the Camembert without me ever getting to taste it – never mind! We’ve yet to try the mature cheddar and Leicester. And whatismore, Claire is planning to open a shop in Hanwell this spring and more news of that when it’s open.
Talking of open, at OPEN Ealing we have a monthly First Friday event when we have the opening of two new gallery exhibitions. For this we offer wine and cheese and this time the cheese has been coming from Cheddar Deli. Brent sells a fantastic variety of cheeses, is hugely knowledgeable about the cheeses he stocks and it’s a pleasure to hear him talk about where they come from and what they taste like.
I hope both succeed as that’s got to be good for both West Ealing and Hanwell. Do please try them out and both have Facebook pages:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/w7emporium/223601020990051
http://www.facebook.com/CheddarDELI
February sees OPEN Ealing launch its first ever OPEN Poetry evening on Wednesday 15th along with the opportunity to learn the tango – what more could you ask for? Well, actually, there’s also our regular First Friday free music this Friday followed in the evening by the launch of ealingfaces – an exhibition of portraits of local people. I was going to get my portrait painted but never did quite manage it!
First Friday music on February 3rd 12.30-1.30 with the Tribulus Quartet playing an oboe quartet and a piece by Benjamin Britten.
OPEN Poetry on Wednesday 15th February at 8pm entrance free. Readings by four poets and an open-mic session. More here
Tango lessons – if there is enough interest in learning to dance the tango OPEN will put on lessons on Friday evenings. Find out more here
And if it’s Zumba you’re looking for we have five Zumba classes a week on different days and at different time and you can follow one of the Zumba teachers on Twitter @ZumbaShaf
Ealing Transition is a focal point for practical community action on peak oil and climate change. It now has 1200 members and is looking for volunteers to help it tell its story:
Telling the Transition Story
Are you a storyteller, a journalist, blogger or film-maker? Could you get Ealing Transition into the headlines? We need a team to start magnifying the effect of our work, making our website work harder, using social media to its greatest potential, making presentations to groups around the borough etc. Contact steering@ealingtransition.org.uk if you think you can help.
OPEN Ealing will be moving to new premises in the heart of West Ealing in late March/early April. We have identified suitable promises and agreed terms with the landlord. We now need to find a friendly architect who can donate some of their time and skill to help us draw up plans for the building. We will need to make changes to the building’s current internal layout and work out how to make best use of the 8,000 or so sq ft. Is anyone up for the challenge? If so, please email info@openealing.com and we’ll be delighted to talk to you about the project and our plans for the new building. This is a huge opportunity for OPEN Ealing to make a major contribution to life in West Ealing, so it’s crucial we get this step right as we plan to make West Ealing our permanent home. You can find out more about OPEN on our website at www.openealing.com
Hope to hear from someone soon!