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Would you like to come Blackberry Picking on Sunday 7th August?

Hi all volunteers

There are plenty of early blackberries about it seems and it looks as though we should be able to have an inaugural pick on Sunday August 7 at 7pm. We’ll meet at Mayfield School, High Lane, Hanwell, W7 3RT and set off about 7.15.

We will almost certainly pick again – but we’ll decide on the exact date after this Sunday. We’ll bring some tupperware to collect the blackberry donations for WEN, but bring your own, too, so you can take some home.

Let’s hope the weather stays fine!

Gill/Diane

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Do you want to know where you can buy delicious elderflower cordial?


We are all working hard to make sure we have enough stock for Hanwell Carnival on 18th June at Elthorne Park.  We will be there from 11am setting up our stall until around 5pm.  Come early to make sure you get a bottle of our delicious elderflower cordial (£2.50). Why not stick with the elderflower theme and also buy some lemon and elderflower marmalade? (£3.00) We will also have a selection of other jams/jellies and chutneys to tempt you.

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Ealing’s library services are viable and vibrant: cut the overheads, not the branches

As a consultation on library services in the Borough draws to a close, and the threat of library branch closures looms, James Guest of Ealing Fields Residents Association breaks down the costs of Ealing Libraries, and find that the Council needs to take a closer look at libraries’ considerable overheads if they want to make any cuts.

Key points

  • Ealing spends £6.7million on libraries annually – £65 million of budget savings are said to be needed
  • Overheads make up a high proportion of library costs – over £3 million annually
  • The branch libraries targeted for closure are already closed more days a week than other libraries – hence their lower visitor numbers
  • Only 42 per cent of current expenditure on libraries goes to staff costs – running libraries on a volunteer basis will not save a great deal of money

Continue reading “Ealing’s library services are viable and vibrant: cut the overheads, not the branches”