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Drop in to the OPEN Ealing shop for a chat and a first-class cup of coffee

chat & meet logo

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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Is the government really serious about restricting the number of high street betting shops?

I really hope it is. I’ve posted before about there being too many betting shops on our high street but I think it’s a really important issue for the future of high streets.  I’m certainly not arguing for all betting shops to be closed but it just feels that people are being  exploited, especially by Fixed Odds Betting Terminals. It’s getting these FOBTs in to as many high street sites as possible that’s been driving the ever-increasing number of betting shops in high streets.   The government plans to give local authorities powers to restrict the number of betting shops. I’ll believe it when I see it but a long overdue step in my opinion.  How effective it will be also depends on the willingness of the local authority to use any future legislation. Surely we already have more than enough betting shops for our local population?

I thought a good starting point is to go out and count the number of betting shops and loan shops along the Uxbridge Road in West Ealing to give a base line so someone can count again in a few years time and see what’s happened.  As of today I counted six betting shops ( seven when BetFred opens on the ground floor of the new hotel being built in Melbourne Ave), two gaming/fruit machine establishments and five loanshops/pawnbrokers:

Betting Shops

  • Ladbrokes
  • Coral x 2
  • William Hill x2
  • Paddy Power

Gaming shops

  • Cashino
  • Reels

Loan shops/pawnbrokers

  • Cash Converters
  • Money Shop
  • Cash Generator
  • H&T Pawnbrokers
  • Albemarle & Bond pawnbrokers

 

 

 

 

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Researching local and family history talk Saturday 10th May

Local History Workshop at Ealing Central Library on Saturday 10th May 2.30pm. Cost £4

Speaking from personal experience , there’s always a surprise waiting when you start researching your family history. In my case it was my paternal great-great grandfather and how many children he had by whom and when – and I still haven’t got to the bottom of it. Let alone why on earth he appears to have sent his very elderly parents from Liverpool to a large house on the Isle of Man in the mid 1800s – a complete mystery!

Whether it’s local history or family history you might be interested in the Local History Workshop run by historians Dr Jonathan Oates and Dr Piotr Stolarski on Saturday 10th May in the Green Room at Ealing Central Library at 2.30pm. The cost is £4.  Places are limited so you can book by calling 020 3700 1052 or email reading@ealing.gov.uk

There are other talks as well:

Shops of Yesteryear by Prof Alan Gillett on 8th May at 6.15pm

The Private Asylums of Ealing by Paul Lang on 26th June at 6.15pm

 

 

 

 

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Meeting tonight about plans for Crossrail at West Ealing

Public Meeting at the Drayton Court Hotel on Tuesday 22nd April at 7.30pm.

  • Trains 200 metres long
  • Carrying up to 1500 passengers
  • New station in Manor Road
  • Up and running by 2019
  • 14 minutes to Bond Street, 21 minutes to Liverpool Street, 28 minutes to Canary Wharf

 

  • What are the plans for the new station and its surrounding area?
  • What arrangements for taxis, cyclists and to  drop-off?
  • What are the plans for buses?

 

Come along and find out more from representtaives of Crossrail, Ealing Council, West Ealing Centre Neighbourhood Forum and the newly created West Ealing Business Improvement District.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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OPEN Ealing arts project needs your support

I spoke to Anthony Shrubsall, chair of OPEN Ealing for an update on the latest plans for OPEN and the planned community café on the Green Man Lane Estate. ‘We are going into partnership with A2 Community Involvement (A2 Dominion are the developers) with a view to substantial use of the cafe theatre space for continuing OPEN’s arts activities while A2 Community Involvement run the cafe.  We are working with them to submit an Arts Council bid with a view to providing a full programme of professionals doing small scale shows including music, theatre, spoken word, storytelling and poetry recitals. The view is also that we will also provide a range of OPEN workshop activities complementing and expanding upon the range of performances.  We are pursuing fine art based activities via a different route although there may be more cross-over once we are actually operating from there.   The intention is to open in late spring.

Part of the bid to the arts council also requires feedback from the local community on what people wish to see and how much support there is for the arts in the local area.’  This is where OPEN needs your support. There is an online survey which OPEN needs as many people as possible to complete. Click on the following link to complete this survey https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/GMLResidents. They aim to get the bid submitted to Arts Council by the end of April.

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The Hanwell Hootie is back – live music from 30 bands on Saturday 5th April

Hanwell gets ready to rock as Hootie music festival pays tribute to ‘Father of Loud’, Jim Marshall.

I went to the first Hanwell Hootie last year and it was brilliant so if you enjoy live music from some great local bands then get ready for this year’s Hootie on Saturday 5th April from 4pm.

As last year, the Hanwell Hootie is sponsored by Marshall Amps.  Jon Ellery, Managing Director of Marshall, said: ‘Our philosophy with the festival is about celebrating our roots, bringing fantastic live music to small venues in Hanwell and putting the area back on the music map.’

The 2014 Hootie features live music from 30 bands playing across six venues between 4pm – 11pm, including The Prince of Wales, The Inn on the Green, The Fox, The Duke of York, The Kings Arms and The Village Inn. There’ll also be ‘fringe’ music activities in around Hanwell, including The Clock Tower Café, Ryan’s Bar and W7 Emporium.

Confirmed acts include: the nine-piece swamp pop, New Orleans blues group, The Dirty Gentlemen; the raucous rock ‘n’ roll gypsy band, Tankus the Henge; and nothing short of a super group, Bad for Lazarus, who boast ex-members of Nine Inch Nails, The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster and UNKLE.

The festival will kick off with a Minute of Loud near Hanwell Clock Tower at 4pm.   To keep up to date with who is playing where and when visitwww.facebook.com/TheHanwellHootie

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Six Short Plays back at OPEN Ealing on Saturday 29th March 7.30pm

OPEN NEWSLETTER

SIX Short Plays 5

The return of Short Plays is back this week on SATURDAY 29TH March, 7:30pm at Drayton Green Road W13 0NG .

A format that is quickly becoming a tradition, Short Plays brings to Ealing a dynamic round of fresh and witty theatre in manageable doses.

Plays include: Excess, Selected Committee, The Elephant who was swallowed by a Boa Constrictor, The Dragon and the Butterfly, Merger Talks and Outbreak

Written by:  Tom Jensen, Liam O’Grady and Wally Sewell, performed by Mary Drake and Andrew Loudon and directed by Anthony.

£5 on the door

For more details please email info@openealing.com
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West Ealing businesses vote yes to spending £1m to improve West Ealing

West Ealing businesses have voted ‘yes’ to setting up a Business Improvement District in West Ealing. A BID has been operating in Ealing Broadway for some years and their BID team worked long and hard to persuade West Ealing’s traders to follow their lead.  The idea behind a BID is for businesses in the area to contribute about a 1% levy on their rateable value to the BID which then uses that money on projects to improve and promote the area  – safety, marketing and promotion, special events and so on.  Over the West Ealing BID’s initial five years the amount raised by this levy will be £1 million.  Sarah Evans of Waitrose is currently the chair elect of the West Ealing BID and other businesses will be represented on its board of directors.

I’ve said this before but it feels increasingly to me that West Ealing is changing, partly driven by Crossrail, and we wish the West Ealing BID every success in playing its part in improving West Ealing.

There’s more about this story of the Ealing Today website 

( On the same theme I’m trying to find out what was said about plans for The Grosvenor pub at last night’s meeting with the owners. The essence of the plan is to turn this once run -down pub in to a gastro pub)

 

 

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Get juicy at West Ealing’s Pop Up Shop

Ealing Pop Up Shop

Ealing Pop-Up Shop has re-opened its doors this week with a new trader selling freshly made fruit juices and vegetables.

The juiceCube will be based in Ealing Council’s pop-up shop, at 99 Broadway, West Ealing, until 22 February.  The fruit and vegetable drinks are made while-you-wait. Check out his website www.juice-cube.co.uk

He has organised an event to celebrate his opening on Thursday 13 February, 5.30pm-8.30pm

There will be live music, table tennis and refreshments. Please make it down and circulate email to everyone who’d be interested.

For details of upcoming traders at Ealing Pop Up Shop, please visit www.ealing.gov.uk/popupshop