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I’m delighted to say Wenzels hasn’t closed and is launching a 99p bread shop.. and The Cake Box has opened

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Well, I thought Wenzels’ had closed as it was not open this morning and looked deserted and I was going to miss their rye bread.  Then the power of Twitter kicked in and I found out they are not closing. They will be re-opening tomorrow as a 99p bread shop so that’s where I’ll be off to in the morning. I’m delighted they are not closing. Further west along the high stret The Cake Box has opened and looks tempting.

Even so, it’s clearly tough going for traders and raises questions about our high street. I still feel optimistic in the long run with the new housing developments and Crossrail but they are the future and it’s the present that is the immediate challenge for traders. If you’re concerned about what’s happening to our high street and want to find out about some of the ideas and plans already being worked over the next few months – pop-up shops, OPEN Ealing returning, Big Lunch in Dean Gardens in June – then do please come along to West Ealing Neighbours public meeting on Tuesday 28th May at St John’s Church IN Mattock Lane from 7.30pm. The current and future state of our high street is the main item. Details of this meeting, pop-up shops and more in our May newsletter.

 

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Join award-winning musician Keith Waithe at OPEN Ealing tonight for a taster session of his 5-week course

Keith Waithe

Join renowned flautist Keith Waithe at OPENShop 13 Drayton Green Road, W13 0NG, tonight ( Thursday 9 May) for an introduction to ‘Flute Journey’. OPEN Ealing hope this will encourage you to stay on for the entire five-session course of workshops designed for flautists, singers and djembe drummers (please bring your own instrument) and aimed at developing your own musical journey, culminating with a performance of all involved, at the Drayton Park Hotel, Ealing.

Details:

Course introduction evening, 9 May: Entrance, donation to OPEN (suggested donation, £5.00) All welcome, whether you stay on for the course or not.

Course dates Thursdays 9, 16, 30 May, 6 and 13 June. Cost, £10.00 per 2-hour session (pay per session)

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A new 5-storey building with primary school and flats on the St John’s Primary School site in Felix Road, West Ealing?

A new school for St John’s

At long last the Council has come round to exploring the option to build a new and larger St John’s Primary School as part of the redevelopment of the Green Man Lane Estate. WEN has argued from the very start of the development process that this was a golden opportunity to rebuild the school to add much-needed extra capacity. Indeed, rebuilding the school was in the original plans from Rydon/A2Dominion who eventually won the contract. The school would have been moved a little way south onto its original 1894 site and in its place there would have been three-storey houses. For whatever reason this idea was dropped but has now been revived and the Council Cabinet recentlyagreed to explore with the developers the option of rebuilding the school on its existing site but, this time, it would be a three-storey school plus two storeys of homes, making a five-storey building on this road of mostly two-storey Victorian/Edwardian homes. (See Plans for Green Man Lane April 2009 )

There is likely to be some strong local opposition to the height of this proposed building. This could have been avoided if the Council had been more forward-looking at the very start of the planning and discussion for the Green Man Lane development.

Although it’s not specifically on the agenda for tonight’s Elthorne Ward Forum meeting questions about these plans are very likely to be raised. The meeting is at the Green Man Lane Community Centre and the meeting starts at 7.15pm.

Update Wednesday 11pm

I went to tonight’s Elthorne Ward Forum meeting. The discussion about St John’s School was feisty. Some nearby residents made clear their concerns about the consultation process and the Council’s poor performance over the installation of portakabin classrooms a couple of years ago when the Council had to admit it had failed in a proper consultation for their installation.

Some useful information emerged. The Council is looking at two possible options for rebuilding the school. One is the 50-storey option mentioned above. The second is to rebuild the school a little further south and put a row of houses along Felix Road. This second option sounds very similar to the one first floated in 2009 (see Plans for Green Man Lane April 2009 link above).

The consultation process was explained. There will be an initial consultation about the principle of expanding the school and this is about the need for additional school places in the light of projected birth rates and population growth. Assuming this consultation shows there is a need for more primary school places then the second consultation will be about the proposed design of the new school. If both consultations approve the proposals and planning permission is granted then a possible completion date is 2017/18.

The discussion concluded with a plea for consultation at the early formative stage of plans, better communication from the Council about its thinking and a consultation process that covers all stakeholders including residents of all the surrounding roads.

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Calling all artists – OPEN Ealing is looking for artists for a special live project in their OPEN SHOP in June

OPEN Ealing

About:

OPEN Ealing will be hosting a special live project during June to shed light on the often private and elusive practice of the artist’s studio. Throughout the month, six artists will be given free access to the OPENShop venue for three days to use as a studio to make and document new work. Artists’ activities  will be on view through the shop window. As part of the project, each artist will be interviewed and filmed in the space and an exhibition of the artists’ work (either made in the space or selected from existing work) will be held during July weekly, from Fri–Sun. We hope the public will engage with the project either by viewing through the shop window or coming into the shop/temporary studio to speak to artists about their practice, All applicants must therefore be willing to speak to members of the public during their time at the OPENShop studio.


To Apply:
– email art@openealing.comwith a maximum of 6 images representing your current work. These should be in .jpg format at 72 dpi resolution. Files should be titled as follows: Last name_First name_Number.jpg. (e.g., Smith_J_01.jpg)

·  Please include a short biography and artist’s statement (together, no more than 400 words in total) along with a separate document listing the title, media and dimensions of each work, marking each entry with its number to correspond with image files

·  If you have ideas for a particular piece or site-specific work, please provide details in a separate document and bear in mind the exhibition that follows will be a group exhibition and wall space (sorry, not floor – we run other events on non-exhibition days) will be divided up equally


– Artists must use the OPENShop studio from 10.am – 6pm on each of the three June studio days allocated (Friday–Sunday). Please specify which weekends you would prefer. We would aim to host two artists at a time over each of three weekends
– Artists must be willing to partake in a video interview, have their work filmed and if required, speak with members of the public about their work
– All artists may apply, but due to use of the space over the rest of the week and storage restrictions, wall based and performance artworks are preferred.

Other details:
A member of staff or volunteer will be in attendance on reception in the space at all times, but please be responsible for your own equipment during the three days allotted – no storage for tools or equipment is available after that time.


Artists must tidy up the space at the end of their time slot, as OPENShop will be used for classes and other activities Tues–Thurs

Exhibition:

Work by all six participating artists’ will be selected for exhibition, Friday–Sunday at OPENShop over four weeks in July and the exhibition will be hung in consultation with and at the discretion of OPEN’s Visual Arts and Exhibitions Manager. A private view will be held and e-invitations and other publicity will be undertaken by OPEN.

Details also on www.openealing.com
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Bollywood, History of Happiness, Life Drawing classes and more coming soon from OPEN Ealing

 

‘All-Singing All-Dancing’ – Bollywood: the Role of Music in Popular Hindi Cinema

A talk by Angela Ayton

 

At 7.30pm on Tuesday 14th May

Admission £5.00 including refreshments.

 

 

An Illustrated History of Happiness: A talk by Colin Lomas & Kevin Carlin

At 7.30pm on Tuesday 21st May

Admission £5.00 including refreshments

 

7.30–8.20pm  Colin Lomas: The Western perspective –

the thread from Plato to Prozac and Smiley

8.20–8.50pm  Kevin Carlin: The Eastern perspective –

the Wisdom of Buddhism

8.50–9.30pm Open discussion and refreshments

 

 

Life Drawing Classes

Wednesday evenings, from 22 May. 7.00–9.30pm

 

The 10 weekly sessions with artist Jack Jones will include a professional life-model. Paper and easels are available. Please bring your own materials (pencils, charcoal, crayons etc – although we hope to have a supply of basic materials for sale at discounted prices). Beginners and all levels welcome

 

Cost, £10.00 per session (pay per session) or save 20% by enrolling for all 10 sessions in advance.

 

To enroll, simply turn up on the first day – or join us as the course progresses.

 

 

Forthcoming: Daytime Printmaking Workshops (Beginners/intermediate)

Would you like to learn how to make simple lino-cut prints or any other kind of printmaking? Prints could decorate your home or make very personal presents – or artworks for sale.

 

£10 for a 2-hour session. Basic tools and materials would be provided

 

Interested? Let us know at info@openealing.com. If we get enough interest, we’ll run a class with a professional artist printmaker to show you how.

 

(photograph by Angelika Berndt)

Full details at www.openealing.com
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West Ealing roof-top drama ends safely

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The Uxbridge Road was shut for hours yesterday afternoon as emergency services dealt with a man threatening to jump off the roof on the corner of Leeland Road and the Uxbridge Road. A helicopter clattered overhead for some hours as police tried to talk him down. Some locals say the man had just come from the nearby magistrates court and managed to climb up the fire escape on to the roof above the betting shop and then threatened to jump. Roads were re-opened around 9.30pm and local traders could then clear away and get home.

(Photo by Jay Patel)

 

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Talking about West Ealing – drop in and join us for a coffee on Saturday morning 11.30am at Silva Cafe

Silva Cafe

The WEN committee will be at the Silva Cafe this Saturday from 11.30am until 12.30pm and anyone is welcome to join us. We’ll have the team working on the feasibility study for a community and business hub in West Ealing joining us to explain their ideas and hear what our thoughts are (see post below). We’ll also be planning our next public meeting which will be about what sort of high stret we’d like to see develop in West Ealing over the next few years. I think West Ealing is on the cusp of change but what do you think?

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A new creative space for the community and business in West Ealing

Inspired by the success of co-working spaces in central London, a group of local people now want to bring this concept to the heart of West Ealing. A co-working space, or hub, would allow entrepreneurs, sole traders, freelancers or start-ups to work alongside one another in a collaborative atmosphere. Creative people working flexibly in a modern and stimulating environment where ideas can be shared and enterprise thrive. Working independently should not mean working alone.

The space will include a café, open to all and driven by the needs of the local community. The café will aim to emphasize quality local produce and offer a relaxed meeting place. The group hopes the study will show the potential for this high street hub to make a significant contribution to the exciting new future for West Ealing, as the impact of major developments and Crossrail start to take effect.

 The West Ealing Hub Working Group will be conducting a feasibility study for a hub in West Ealing over the next few months. The study is supported by Ealing Council High Street Innovation Fund.

You can keep up to date with developments by joining our mailing list at www.westealinghub.com 

 

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Music and drama workshops and history of modern art talks coming soon from OPEN Ealing

The paint brushes will soon be put away as OPEN Ealing gets ready for its first set of arts activities in its new home in Drayton Green Road. These first workshops and talks are led by established west London artists:

Music workshops: Keith Waithe

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Flute, djembe drumming and vocal workshops with Keith Waithe, professional musician and composer, flautist and band leader of Keith Waithe and the Macusi Players.

Thursday evenings, between 9 May – 13 June. 7–9pm.

Join Keith at OPENShop 13 Drayton Green Road, W13 0NG, on Thursday 9 May for an introduction to ‘Flute Journey’. We hope this will encourage you to stay on for the entire five-session course of workshops designed for flautists, singers and djembe drummers (please bring your own instrument) and aimed at developing your own musical journey, culminating with a performance of all involved, at the Drayton Park Hotel, Ealing.

Details:

Course introduction evening, 2 May: Entrance, donation to OPEN (suggested donation, £5.00) All welcome, whether you stay on for the course or not.

Course dates Thursdays 9, 16, 30 May, 6 and 13 June. Cost, £10.00 per 2-hour session (pay per session).

‘Workshops and performances will be based on the theme “The Journey”. Musicians will introduce their art form using the theme of journeys as a catalyst for the final performance. Participants will work in groups, rotating between musicians throughout the duration of the sessions in order to fully benefit from the full range of experiences available.’

 

 

OPEN Stage Writers’ Workshop

Join West London’s newest theatre writers’ workshop – a wonderful opportunity for writers, at any stage in their development, to work with and learn from other writers.

From Tues 4th June, OPEN Ealing will be running a 10-week course of 2-hour sessions led by established west London playwright Wally Sewell <http://www.actorsandwriters.org/wally.sewell/index.php>. 

Writers will develop their craft through workshops and exercises, reading and discussing their own and others’ work in a supportive and guided environment,with occasional input from professional actors and directors. At the end of the course participants’ work will be performed in a showcase of rehearsed ten minute plays as part of our OPENStage drama/theatre month. 

Cost, £10.00 per 2-hour session (pay per lecture) or save 20% by enrolling for all 10 workshops in advance.

 

OPEN History of Modern Art

OPENShop, 13 Drayton Green Road, London W13 0NG

 

Monday evenings, from 13th May. 7–9pm

A general introduction to the historical development of modern art in the western world, presented by artist, lecturer and Artistic Director of OPEN, Nick Pearson.

 

The 13-session weekly course will cover the period from Romanticism and Realism in the late 1800s, and take in the major movements of Western 20th-century art up to the ‘Young British Artists’ phenomenon of recent years. In the course of these fully illustrated slide lectures, key works from each movement will be discussed, and will help you to appreciate the art and ideas of the time. The course will also illustrate how other cultures, technology and world events have influenced artists of the twentieth century.

 

Each lecture will be followed by detailed, illustrated tutor’s notes with suggestions for further reading/study – building into your own encyclopedia of modern art!

 

By the end of this course, you should be able to:

·         Recognise key movements of 20th century art: Impressionism; Post-Impressionism; Cubism; Surrealism, Abstract Expressionism; Pop Art; Minimalism, Performance Art, etc.

·         Name key figures associated with each movement in modern art.

·         Understand the evolution of modern art movements, their relation to one another and the culture in which they were created.

 

This is a full module of the kind you would do at an art college, except there are no set essays and the level at which you learn is entirely up to you!

 

Cost, £10.00 per 2-hour session (pay per lecture) or save 20% by enrolling for all 12 lectures in advance. To enrol, simply turn up on the first day – or join us as the course progresses

 

Full details at www.openealing.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Origins of some West Ealing street names – part 2

It should come as no surprise that many of our names have royal connections, partly for patriotic reasons but also reflective of the fact that Duke of of Kent (1767 -1820) Edward Augustus, father of Queen Victoria lived at Castle Hill Lodge from 1801-12. A replacement house was built in 1845 and a small part still exists and is now occupied by St David’s Home. So we have Kent Gardens, Regina Road/Terrace and Victoria Road/ Cumberland Road in W5/W7. 

 08ReginaRoad

An interesting name of agricultural origins is Hessel Road and a member of Steel family told me that the family use to grow the Hessel Pears, hence this name. “Excellently hardy pear. Ready October. Round to conical fruit. Pale yellow with small russeted dots. Quite a sweet fruit. Does well in the north of country. Crops very heavy. Found in Hessle, Yorkshire.” An internet search reveal you can buy a tree for £12.75. Other fruit names which are just in W5 in Little Ealing are named after varieties of cooking apples Bramley, Julian & Wellington roads, which were built on land developed by the Steel family.

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While on the agricultural theme, the names of fields often find themselves being used for street names. The obvious ones Broomfield Road/Place, Churchfield, Courtfield, Glenfield Road/Terrace, Kirkfield, Mayfield, Middlefielde, Northfields, Westfield. A very un-obvious one is Northcroft  Road, which probably takes it name from a field called North Kings Croft. The road itself follows a footpath that linked Windmill road in Little Ealing with West Ealing.

 

Northfield Road

 

Northfield’s school site is bordered on one side by Balfour Road and nearby are Salisbury and Chamberlain Roads, all of these undoubtedly take their name from politicians of the period. Balfour was Prime Minister in 1902 when the Education Act of that year, made education compulsory. The previous 1870 act had allowed local communities if they so decided to offer education and to recoup the cost through the “rates” (now Council Tax), consequently the provision was patchy. The passing of act prompted much school building and Northfield school dated from this period. The building design was used for Little Ealing School as well, which saved on the cost. Balfour had previously served in his Uncle’s – Lord Salisbury cabinet, which is where we get Salisbury Road from. Chamberlain Road is named after Joseph Chamberlain (1836 – 1914) who in his early years was a campaigner for educational reform, serving as Mayor of Birmingham before becoming an MP, rather than his more famous son Neville Chamberlain. It was Neville who signed the Munich Agreement in 1938, which was popular with most people in Britain because it appeared to have prevented a war with Nazi Germany. Charles Steel was a a conservative party supporter and was probably behind the naming of these roads.

 

Whilst in this area Marder road takes its name from the Marder Estates, which was land purchased by the Steel family and for a while they were early estate agents with an office at 2 Plough Terrace called (The South Marder Estates Co ). Ironically, the building is still used today as an estate agents.

David Shailes (to be continued).