Category: West Ealing

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At last! – Lido Junction in West Ealing is safe to cross

Last Friday (15th June) marked the successful end of 5-year effort by WEN and many others to make it safe for pedestrians to cross at the Lido Junction. The lights now have an all-red stop phase to allow safe crossing in all directions.

West Ealing Neighbours and its partners the Five Roads Forum and Kingsdown Residents Assn thank everyone involved in Lido Junction Project Group and many others for campaigning for, negotiating for and finally implementing a safe crossing at this notorious junction. Thanks to the Council and TfL for their hard work to reach agreement on this and we now hope everyone will feel confident that they can at last cross this junction safely.

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Du Bellows’ singer Jade is star of Drayton Court music night

I went to the Drayton Court last night for the Eel Daddy organised music night. Oddly enough, it was the first time I’ve been there and it’s a good venue. It must hold about 200 maximum and it was pretty full last night. There were three bands playing. Du Bellows and Blushing Bones are local and the headliners were Simon Townshend’s band.  For my taste, Du Bellows were the best of the three. Their Welsh lead singer Jade has a memorable and powerful voice which works really well on their bluesy numbers. She teamed up with guitarist T J after an an open mic night at Ealing and have developed their own style. Take a listen to Jade’s voice  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBcxGB8KR88  I think she’s a bit special.  And don’t overlook Blushing Bones. I don’t think the sound balance was right for them last night as Tessa Shrubsall’s voice got a bit lost but they too are well worth a listen http://www.myspace.com/blushingbones and great credit to Tessa and Blushing Bones for organising the night. Let’s hope the Drayton Court can build its reputation as a music venue.

 

 

 

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Vote For Ealing to win £10,000 clean up money

If you vote, Ealing might get a spruce-up for the Olympics…

We seem to have more votes already than all other boroughs – is that because we’re dirtier?

Team Ariel (Ariel detergent and stain remover) are putting up £10,000 to help spruce up five boroughs in time for the Olympics.


 Please vote by following the link below

http://www.supersavvyme.co.uk/pgcapitalcleanup/arielevent.aspx

(Thanks to Denise Davies for passing this on…)

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Toe tapping Cajun and soaring folk music – Ealing is getting better and better for live music

I’ve been lucky enough to go to two live music events in Ealing in the last 24 hours and I’ve really enjoyed both. Last night I was at the Ealing Club to see the Creole Brothers play their version of Louisiana Creole music. The Ealing Club has a key place in the history of British Blues Music and these twice monthly music nights are beginning to reestablish the club as an important part of Ealing’s cultural scene.

Back to the music. If you’ve been to the club you’ll know it’s tucked away down the steps by an estate agent opposite Ealing Broadway station.   As we walked down the steps to the entrance I could hear the sound of Cajun music.  It was a great sound to hear and got even better when we went inside.  Sitting in a circle were musicians of all ages thoroughly enjoying playing their music. Their joy spread to everyone listening and before long people were up and dancing.

The main event of the evening was the Creole Brothers. Without realising it we happened to be sitting near them as they waited their turn to play. One played the accordion and the other a fiddle. Cajun music has a powerful driving rhythm that soon has your feet tapping and the singing in French seems to fit the rhythms so well.  A great night out.

This lunchtime at OPEN we had the soaring voice and very skilled cello playing of Laura Victoria. Laura should have been joined by Sarah-Jane Miller but Sarah was ill so Laura played solo. At first the cello seemed an odd choice of instrument to accompany her modern take on folk music but it worked beautifully. Her voice is so expressive and soars and dips, delighting the audience. Laura’s hour long set included many of her own songs interspersed with at least one jazz classic. Whether singing unaccompanied or making the cello fill the air with multiple sounds, Laura was compulsive listening. I thoroughly recommend you give her a listen –    www.lauravictoriamusic.com

 

 

 

 

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West Ealing Jubilee Craft market – musicians and performers wanted

The next West Ealing Craft Market is in St James Avenue on Saturday 2nd June – the Jubilee weekend. With a bit of luck it may even be sunny!  It would be good fun to have some live music and other street performers involved to make a bit of a special occasion.  If you’re interested in volunteering to play or perform between 11am and 3pm do please email us at westealingneighbours@gmail.com .  At the very least I’m sure we can supply you with something to eat and drink.

As we get the market established we’re keen to make music and street performance a regular feature of the market so even if you can’t make it in June do still please email us.

 

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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.

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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.

 

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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

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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