Neighbours Paper ’
Putting the People of Ealing First
Winter 2018/19
E TH LE VA
RU IS RO LI AD P
Issue No 87
Also featuring: Love Your Park Disabled Access Save Ealing's Centre Volunteer Link Scheme Controlled Parking Zones
GONE MAD?
£7
00
TRANSPORT STRATEGY
lishe Pu b
d
e e r F ease
Pl One e Tak rterly Qua
Acton | Ealing | Greenford | Hanwell | Northolt | Perivale | Southall
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E ditorial
Contents Contents Editorial................................................ 2 The Great CPZ Swindle........................ 3
This issue we look at Ealing’s new CPZ permit charges and at parking and access issues for those with disabilities. There’s an article showing how you could help the lonely and isolated on page 7. Suggestions on how over 60s could enjoy retirement through EON are on page 5. You could even clock up charity donations just by walking in Ealing’s parks! See page 8. We update readers on what’s happening in Ealing, including the latest on Ealing Hospital. And our Winter Help Noticeboard offers much useful local information. We welcome more people! Please contact our Editor if you can help the team or write an article. Finally, we warmly thank all our readers and advertisers and wish you a very Happy Christmas and New Year!
EVENTS AROUND EALING Christmas Carol Services: All local churches welcome everyone to celebrate Christmas at Carol Services, likely to be 16 or 23 December. Watch church noticeboards for details! Ealing Animal Charities Fair, Sat 2 March 2019, 10.30-4.00pm. Hanwell Methodist Church, Church Rd, W7 1DJ. Many participating societies. Great guest speakers. Gifts, lunch, information, refreshments. Admission FREE. Contact: 020 8567 6739 and www.ealinganimalsfair.london.
The Ealing Club. The Ealing Club started back in the 1960s with early gigs by Rolling Stones, The Who and Cream Elsewhere the music continues with the Ealing Club’s Ealing Eclectic Music Space. This initiative sets out to highlight forgotten spaces through live music. Forthcoming locations for gigs include: The Red Room, Drapers Arms, The Brentham Club, Café Zee and many more. Discover more and sign up to the newsletter on the homepage at: wwwealingclub.com.
Ealing Notes......................................4-5 Winter Help Noticeboard.................... 6 Volunteer Befrienders Needed.......... 7 Love Your Park..................................... 8 Transport Issues................................... 9 Tobacco Smoking in Northfields...... 10 SEC 10 Years On................................ 11 Parkour Coming to Ealing................ 12
Neighbours’ Paper Subscribe for a year: Just £4. Make a cheque out to Neighbours’ Paper and send to The Publisher, Neighbours Paper, 12 Waldemar Avenue W13 9PY 020 8579 4847. Twitter.com/NeighboursPaper Facebook.com/NeighboursPaper Email: neighbourspaper@hotmail.co.uk Editor: Tom Whiting (020 8840 5740) Treasurer: Judy Breens
Ealing Music and Film Festival, 13-17 February 2019 The 7th Ealing Music and Film Festival brings together a mix of music and film to lighten February’s dark days – aiming to support Ealing’s young artistic talent through our scholarships and various outreach projects, both in schools and on the concert platform. • Music: our fabulous music line-up brings together the celebrated London Mozart Players (London’s longest established chamber orchestra), performing with the internationally renowned violinist Tasmin Little, who is also an Ealing resident. The Ealing Youth Orchestra also makes its regular return this year in collaboration with the current BBC Young Musician of the Year, pianist Lauren Zhang. We welcome the West London Sinfonia under their music 2
director Philip Hesketh and joined by local actor Christopher Kent. By popular demand Emilie Capulet, Head of Classical Performance at the London College of Music, will again start the Festival programme with a free lunchtime piano recital and our local Love2sing Choir and the LCM Junior College will extend our programme of performances by local musicians. • Film: we are still finalising the details of our film programme. The festival surplus will again be used to support young local student musicians and artists. Full details and tickets will be available, from early December at www.ealingmusicandfilmfestival.org
Putting the People of Ealing First
Writers: Arthur Breens, Judy Breens, Will French, Michael Holmes, Androulla Kyriacou, Bridget Morris, Ron Nicholls, Rosemary Wallis, Tom Whiting Designer: Jamie Anson Webmaster: Sonia Nimley Advert Designer: Sandy Anson Printer: Pollyprint Ltd, 263 Northfield Avenue, Ealing W5 4UA, 0208 579 1441, www.pollyprint.co.uk Advertisement rates: Single Box £25, Double Box £45, Triple Box £70 Next copy deadline: 31st January 2019
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The Great CPZ Swindle
Residents in uproar over new permit charges By Tom Whiting Ealing Council have announced a new scale of resident permit parking charges based on the following: carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and engine size, fuel type, number of cars in household and length of parking zone controls (see table). Amount of CO2 emitted (g per km)
Engine size (cc)
New annual permit price
0-100
0-1100
£50
100-140
1101-1600
£75
141-185
1601-1849
£100
186+
1850+
£125
[Source: Ealing Council website]
Surcharges and discounts: NO2 charge (for diesel vehicles pre-2016): +£50 Electric vehicles discount: -£20 Additional vehicle charge: +£50 Short CPZ discount (restrictions of less than 4 hours a day): -£20
The upshot? A rise in the average price of a permit from £75 to £113, an increase of over 50% across the borough.
CO2 emissions. So, in theory, a 20year old Honda Civic will be charged more than a brand new Civic. But there’s a huge flaw in that premise. According to a local car mechanic who’s worked in the industry for more than 25 years, ‘Vehicle CO2 emissions are not solely dependent on the age of the car - other factors come into play such as frequency of servicing, annual mileage, and road use.’
§ For the Council’s Parking Annual Report of Accounts, see www.ealing.cmis.uk.com. [Ed note: Mik Sabiers, Ealing Councillor for H ighways & the Environment, was asked to contribute to this article and to address our readers’ concerns .
A real
pity that he declined to respond.]
What’s more, leading environmental scientists (such as Mike Berners-Lee, as quoted in the Telegraph) have argued for years that the carbon footprint of an older vehicle is on average less than that of a newer car, when you consider all the pollution and waste that goes into the manufacturing process of a brand new vehicle. Surely a fairer system would be to base the permit charge on annual mileage (from MOT records) and penalise those high-mileage drivers over those whose cars are mostly parked all day? By the way, we might want to help the planet and go electric – but where exactly are the electric car charging points in Ealing? (The Council’s recommended Source London website map lists ONE in the whole of Ealing borough!)
In addition, the Council are introducing 800 more shared parking bays in Controlled Parking Zones (CPZs) for commuters and other drivers.
Is it too late to abort these flawed new charges? NP and our readers hope not.
So not only are residents with CPZs forced to shell out more, but they are now effectively subsidising nonresidents parking in their own streets!
In 2017/18, £21 million was raised by the Council from on and off-street parking income §. The direct costs associated with running the parking service (such as enforcement officers and staffing costs) totalled £6.2 million. The surplus income of £14.8 million (which by law is ring-fenced for transport and highways initiatives) was used towards concessionary fares, CPZ extensions,
Let’s examine the new charges in more detail. Underpinning Ealing’s Transport Strategy is a desire to penalise diesel cars and especially older vehicles with higher polluting
extra enforcement staff and court services related to parking offences.
The facts
Putting the People of Ealing First
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Ealing Notes Latest figures show community care can't replace hospital beds Six years ago, plans by a body called Shaping a Health Future were put in place to downgrade Ealing and Charing Cross Hospitals to ‘local hospitals’, losing their A&Es and up to 600 beds. But first they would have to drastically cut the number of emergency admissions to North West London hospitals by 99,000 per year, supposedly by treating people in the community. So how well is this going? Not well at all, according to latest figures revealed by Freedom of Information requests. In the last 5 years, emergency admissions to Ealing Hospital increased from 33,000 to 34,000 and across North West London, they increased from 167,000 to 181,000. Demand for beds is now so great that NW London NHS bosses say no beds will be lost at Ealing and Charing Cross until at least 2023. None of this
though has stopped Ealing CCG from pressing ahead with their extremely risky tendering out of our community health services. Their 10 year, £1.3 bn contract is supposed to magically reduce emergency admissions by tens of thousands by ‘transforming’ community health care. More cuts seem inevitable. Likely contract winners - a consortium led by West London NHS Trust - are expected to deliver community health services within a budget so tight that two other NHS Trusts pulled out. These include London North West, who run Ealing Hospital and provide most community health services now. They thought they couldn’t deliver safe, quality services for the money.Ealing Save Our NHS will continue to oppose the rundown of services every step of the way. For more campaigning news from Ealing Save Our NHS please sign up for our newsletter at www.ealingsaveournhs.org.uk.
Pigeon Wars Shoppers at Sainsbury’s West Ealing may notice flocks of pigeons descending on an area adjacent to the store in Melbourne Avenue. A similar sight greets visitors to Dean Gardens. The unsightly droppings left also bring disease risks. This problem is recent and is the result of pigeons being fed on an industrial scale. Residents have pressed Councillors for action but the £10,000 the Council spent on landscaping the Melbourne Avenue area has failed
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to deter the pigeon feeders. Similarly, notices explaining that an Ealing by-law prohibits pigeon feeding are ignored or even obliterated by spray-painters. Cleaning the signs fails because they are swiftly resprayed! There are only two solutions. One is a drastic pigeon cull. The other is a pigeon feeder "cull", which would require CCTV cameras and prosecutions to succeed. More on: www.getwestlondon.co.uk /ealingpigeons
Putting the People of Ealing First
Compiled by J udy B reens
West Ealing Centre Neighbourhood Forum (WECNF) Sadly this has been wound up. Formed in 2013, the forum spent four years and over £30,000 of public money in creating a Neighbourhood Plan for West Ealing centre. In 2017, however, Ealing Council re-wrote the plan and then adopted this changed plan as its own.
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Ealing Notes continueD Selling Ealing’s Family Silver Recent editions of Neighbour’s Paper have described the Council’s asset sales programme and the blow dealt to it this summer when a High Court Judge declared its agreed sale of Southall Town Hall was unlawful. In his written ruling, the Judge has now explained why he agrees with the Southall Community Alliance that by simply accepting the highest bid for the town hall the Council failed in its duty to consider the wider social value of a building that is heavily used by the diverse community, many from disadvantaged minorities. The judge went on to say that Ealing had been ‘grossly deficient’ - strong words for a judge - in not doing a proper Equality Impact Assessment of the sale. Campaign leaders are waiting to hear what happens next, but four months after the court ruling there’s been no word. The High Court’s decision is
important. It confirms that councils like Ealing must put the interests and needs of the community at the centre of their decisions. It shows Councils must examine the case for selling assets like its surplus town halls at less than the highest price. The Judge’s ruling will no doubt affect other Council asset sales in Ealing. What will it mean for instance to the disposal of Ealing Town Hall? Four months after the public consultation into Mastcraft’s ambitious plans for a hotel (see NP 86) laboured negotiations with the charity commission over the status of the charitable trust continue. Still, this means function rooms remain open for hire. See www.saveealingscentre.com. And what about Acton where the winning tender for the Old Library will be announced in December? Will it help the Acton Arts Centre community bid to transform the library into a cinema and cafe-restaurant: see www.actonartsproject.com.
Calls are growing for a pause to these asset sales which cause so many rows for relatively little money. Furthermore, Ealing’s population is set to rise steeply. The services community buildings provide will be essential in helping new residents to integrate in the borough.
100 people on the e-mailing list and about 25 dip in and out throughout the day. All are welcome, no need to book. There are no membership fees; instead there’s a basket for donations to subsidise activities. We’ve contacted Ealing Age UK to combine resources on combating social isolation and the programme reflects members’ interests. We’ve tried most things suggested at that first meeting: art appreciation, circle dancing, crafts, creative writing for well-being, croquet, demonstrations, discussions,
films, games, meditation, Nordic walking, parties, play readings, poetry appreciation, presentations on books/ writers/members’ special interests, singing, story-telling, table tennis, talks, visits, water colour painting and yoga. The programme usually starts with a strength and balance exercise class, there’s a ‘bring and share’ lunch; and activities at 2 and 4pm. For the latest programme contact: ealingover60network@gmail.com or phone Andree on 0776 1104609.
Ealing Over 60 Network (EON) By Androulla Kyriacou Having enjoyed a supportive network while raising her children, Andrée thought retired people might enjoy a more comfortable alternative to the school gates for keeping in touch. This brainchild, now EON, is run by the members, who agree the activities and hire Ealing Quaker Meeting House on Mondays, excluding bank holidays. It started in 20 February 2017 with invitations to pop in and share ideas. Now, there are about
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Winter Help Noticeboard Compiled by Tom Whiting
Acton Homeless Concern 1 Berrymead Gardens, W3 8AA. Tel 020 8992 5768 www.actonhomelessconcern.org Drop-in day centre for homeless and other disadvantaged people. Dementia Concern 223 Windmill Rd, W5 4DJ. Tel 020 8568 4448 enquiries@dementiaconcern.co.uk www.dementiaconcern.co.uk Information and support services for dementia sufferers and their carers. Ealing Advice Service Lido Centre, W13 9LA. Tel 03000 12 54 64 www.ealingadvice.org.uk Advice on a wide range of domestic issues including housing, welfare benefits, debt, immigration, unemployment, mental health and community care. Ealing Age UK 135 Uxbridge Road, W13 9AU. Tel 020 8567 8017 reception@ageukealing.org.uk www.ageuk.org.uk/ealing Free, independent and confidential advice about issues affecting older people and their carers. Ealing Centre for Independent Living 1 Bayham Road, W13 0TQ. Tel 020 8840 8717 ecil@ecil.org www.ecil.org An organisation of disabled people working to eliminate the barriers preventing disabled people and their unpaid carers from living full and independent lives. Ealing Churches Winter Night Shelter c/o All Saints Vicarage, Elm Grove Road, W5 3JH. Tel 07930 378263 office@ecwns.org.uk www.ecwns.org.uk Emergency dormitory-style accommodation for those sleeping on the streets and the vulnerable. Season runs 25 November to 31 March. 6
Ealing Foodbank Tel 020 8840 9428 or 07769 759756 info@ealing.foodbank.org.uk ealing.foodbank.org.uk Emergency food for local people in crisis, donated by local schools, churches, businesses, supermarkets and individuals. Ealing Mencap Enterprise Lodge, Stokedove Way, Greenford UB6 8TJ. Tel 020 8566 9575 www.ealingmencap.org.uk Working with and for people with learning disabilities. Ealing RISE 99-103 The Broadway, West Ealing W13 9BP. Tel 020 8567 4772 ealing@cgl.org.uk www.ealingrise.org.uk Community support based service providing rehabilitation from the use of drugs and alcohol.
Mind in Ealing and Hounslow St Andrews Church Centre, Mount Park Road, W5 2RS. Tel 020 8571 7454 info@mind-eh.org.uk www.mind-eh.org.uk Advice on mental health and illness. Befriending scheme, housing support, advocacy scheme.
Ealing Samaritans 26 Junction Road, W5 4XL. Tel 020 8560 2345 www.samaritans.org/branches/ ealing-samaritans 24-hour confidential and emotional support for people experiencing feelings of distress, despair or suicide.
Neighbourly Care Martin House, 1 Swift Road, Southall, UB2 4RP. Tel 020 8571 1929 enquiries@ neighbourlycare.org.uk www.neighbourlycare.org.uk Bringing together older people from all backgrounds to share their experiences, cultures and lives. Meet at West Ealing Library (Mon 11am3pm) for free hot drinks and social.
Ealing Soup Kitchen St John’s Church, Mattock Lane, W13 9LA. Tel 020 8566 3507 (ext. 7) www.ealingsoupkitchen.org.uk Free weekly soup kitchen (Sat & Sun 3.30-5pm) for the homeless and vulnerable. Also drop-in session for clothes, food, and practical help (Fri 1.00-3.30pm).
Salvation Army Café 8 Leeland Rd, W13 9HH. Tel 020 8840 0348 ealing@salvationarmy.org.uk www.salvationarmy.org.uk/ealing Free weekly soup kitchen (Mon 7-9pm). A hot meal, music and more.
Home Start Ealing Hanwell Children’s Centre, 25A Laurel Gardens, W7 3JG. Tel 020 8842 1617 www.homestartealing.org Support, friendship and practical help to Ealing parents who are experiencing challenging times at home. Putting the People of Ealing First
Welshore Community Hub 99 The Broadway, West Ealing W13 9BP. Tel 020 8566 4099 www.welshore.org.uk Group activities for all ages such as chess, sewing, knitting, and lunch club, aiming to bring together the isolated in society.
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Volunteer Befrienders Needed
Dementia and mental health We are currently setting up two new projects, one to support people who have dementia, and another for those with mental health issues. As well as recruiting volunteers for our ‘regular’ clients, therefore, we are also looking for people who are willing to support people from these client groups.
By B ridget Morris, Volunteer Coordinator
Are you interested in supporting fellow Ealing residents who are lonely and isolated by visiting them on a weekly basis? Volunteer befrienders find their volunteering very rewarding and gain a lot themselves. Volunteer Link recruits volunteers to become befrienders to lonely, isolated and housebound people within the borough of Ealing, most of whom are aged 75 plus. Volunteers undergo a one-day Volunteers Induction training course where they are in a group of 8 to 10 people and topics covered include the importance of boundaries, communication skills, confidentiality, health and safety etc. Volunteers also provide us with details of two referees and undergo a DBS (police) check which we organise and pay for. Weekly visits On successful completion of the training and checks, volunteers are introduced to a lonely and isolated person who lives in their area and asked to visit on a weekly basis for up to two hours to provide companionship and support. They are not required to carry out any practical tasks.
Full support is provided by Volunteer Link staff and further training is available. In addition volunteers meetings are held every three months and social events at least twice a year. Sue, a volunteer, said: ‘The elderly ladies I have visited all came to the Ealing area from other countries, and I have found that our conversations have given me a fascinating insight into their past experiences which I really appreciate. I would never have learned about these things had I not met them through my VLS visiting.’ Another volunteer, Richard, said: ‘The 95-year-old gentleman I visit is a quipa-minute marvel, and has a wealth of humorous anecdotes dating back to his army-service years in North Africa and Italy. I'm so fortunate to have him as my befriendee and to have the unparalleled support of the superb Volunteer Link team.’ Volunteering can be challenging in that volunteers go into clients homes alone and need to be confident to deal with any immediate issues.
Volunteering with Volunteer Link can be a great way to gain experience in the social care sector and give you something to put on your CV. It can be rewarding and interesting and a great way to ‘give something back’ to your local community. We have over 80 volunteers supported by our small staff team. Interested in joining our friendly team? Then please telephone Bridget Morris, Volunteer Coordinator on 020 8434 3635 or email at bridget@volunteerlink.org.uk to find out how to apply. See www.volunteerlink.org.uk for more information about Volunteer Link.
* Party Bookings * Christmas Day availability * New Year’s Eve Join Us!
£15 Putting the People of Ealing First
x100 Business Cards Single Sided
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Love Your Park By Ron Nicholls If you happened to be passing the Northfield Avenue entrance to Lammas Park, you might have seen a large banner spanning the wrought iron gates and perhaps not given it a second glance. That would indeed be a shame for the programme it highlights can bring great benefits to our local community on any number of levels. Reward your park walks The BetterPoints app - the heart of Ealing Council's ‘Love Your Park’ initiative - enables park-centred activities to be recorded and in turn rewarded via the GPS tracking system built into both Android smartphones and Apple iPhones. If you are a regular user of the green spaces of our borough and if you have the right kind of phone, then you can amass an enormous number of BetterPoints which can be instantly
converted into donations for good causes or into high-street gift cards. Earning points The activities for which you can earn points in an Ealing park are fairly simple and straightforward:
Donating to
1) scanning one of the QRcoded waste bins 2) doing a ‘Walk and Pick’ expedition to help keep the park tidy 3) walking 4) running 5) cycling
Roughly speaking the exchange rate on BetterPoints is 1,000 to £1, but this can vary slightly in the case of gift-cards.
In addition to these options, we have been promised that the next version of the app will include an additional activity : 6) using a wheelchair or mobility vehicle in the park I became a user of the BetterPoints app at the beginning of October and after only four weeks was able to earn over £45 worth of points which I will be donating to local charities. If more of us who support local good causes did something similar, the amounts raised could be considerable. The beauty of cashless donation systems is that they enable those with limited means to experience the joy of giving to a noble cause within their own communities.
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Putting the People of Ealing First
a good cause is
now a walk in the park .
Courses to help you To further assist novice and seasoned smartphone users, both ECIL (Ealing Centre for Independent Living) and The Welshore Community Hub in West Ealing are planning to host a series of multimedia-based 1-hour seminars and Q&A sessions to help Ealing residents make the best (and most strategic) use of this robust and powerful app. Please contact either or both of these centres if you wish to book a place on the courses. Who would have ever thought that donating to a good cause could become as simple and enjoyable as a walk in the park? ‘Love Your Park’ was officially launched by Ealing Council at the end of April 2018 and will run until May 2019. For more detailed information consult the Help section of the App or www.betterpoints.uk.
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Transport Issues From Another Perspective By Arthur B reens We have written about this before but the message doesn’t penetrate Ealing Council’s Transport Department. The logo that appears on every letter sent out by the council - ‘POSITIVE ABOUT DISABLED PEOPLE’ - just isn’t good enough on its own. What the disabled, the physically challenged, the elderly and those with buggies and luggage want, is action. Here are various current omissions. Problems sometimes go back to the Planning Department. Back in 2015, permission for the Holiday Inn Express Hotel in West Ealing was granted, with the proviso that one disabled bay be provided on the public highway somewhere near the entrance. Many of the rooms were designed with disabled access. Today, there is still no provision. Ealing’s Transport Department also seems unaware that EIGHT disabled bays have disappeared in the bonanza of flat building that’s taken place in West Ealing north of the Uxbridge Road. What they also haven’t done is to provide a disabled bay in the design for the new station entrance to the West Ealing Elizabeth line/ Crossrail station in Manor Road. A British Standard guides designers of new station forecourts, by detailing what should be installed. The BS in this instance says the station should have a
Stop FLU going viral
disabled bay adjacent to the station entrance. Just what is the point of having British Standards if LBE and the Mayor’s Office ignore them? Techies among us follow other BS guidelines like the Bible or the Koran for the very good reason that if we follow them, everything generally works out fine. Some equipment is even put in to hamper the disabled! Acton Town Tube station is the only one in Ealing Borough that has step-free access to the platforms. How do the LBE Parking Department treat this rare facility? They place a CCTV camera outside the station so that everyone who drops off a passenger, be they able bodied or disabled, gets a Parking Ticket (PCN). It is the same for the Town Hall/ Perceval Castle. If you are disabled and want a Blue Badge you may have to give evidence in person. This is tricky because, if your friend drives and sets you down to struggle to the application desk, another dreaded camera is watching your driver and his vehicle ready to issue another PCN.
H elp make Northfields station
step free!
3.99 million entry and exit passengers in 2017, you’d think that would be a priority for Transport for London. There are already bays for car drop-off and pick-up. How civilised! Problem is, despite the high passenger use, it isn’t on the shortlist as far as I can tell. And it isn’t that TfL hasn’t got money. They are waving their £8 million fat cheque book around West Ealing to improve cycling and walking, ignoring the fact that all the Ealing stations have access problems. Wrong priorities eh? To sign the petition, visit www.bit.ly/northfields.
You may conclude that some council officers seek to run the council as a business rather than a service for its citizens including its disabled citizens. There is a campaign to make Northfields Station step-free. With
Logo
on
8 St Johns Parade Mattock Lane Ealing W13 9LL
Putting the People of Ealing First
Council's letterhead.
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Northfields Back in Time:
Tobacco smoking in pre-war Northfields [Publisher’s comment: It is interesting to remember how prevalent smoking was among men and women even twenty years ago. Below, Rosemary Wallis reminds us how things were…] Street cleaning was a regular council chore. With wheeled barrows and brooms, Council workers constantly swept the kerbs and pavements. Nevertheless, dog ends were always a problem. The very few drunks and ‘down and outs’ collected them to recycle in papers for free smokes. Smoking was so prevalent there was a shop in Northfields Avenue, locally known as Dick Masons, which concentrated solely on products associated with it. Located near the junction of Northfield Road and Northfield Avenue in premises now occupied by Happy Garden Chinese Takeaway, it was a neat, tidy place with brass scales, glass topped counters and two walls of light oak boxes, labelled and containing about thirty types of tobacco, e.g. Virginia, Shag, etc. Pipes, cigars and cigarettes were equally popular. Smoking presents Pipes were usually used by the older generation. A man's living room corner
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held a pipe rack, tray for tobacco, a jar full of pipe cleaners and a large ashtray to knock and empty his pipe. Some men added a brass spittoon, which sadly, their unfortunate wives would have to clean! Pipe cleaners were felt-covered wire strips to pull through pipes. Pipes and their racks, pipe cleaners, ashtrays and tobacco trays were all good ideas for Granddad for Christmas! A more expensive present was a tobacco pouch. For cigarette smokers, cigarette cases were luxury items, often bought as a love gift, engraved with a message. Metal and heavy glass ashtrays were ornate, sometimes carrying brand names. Tobacco, type selected, was weighed by the ounce and packed in foil paper. Cigarette papers and roller machines were available for home-made cigarettes. Fire hazard Lighters and their fuel were for sale. Small jelly form tubes could be bought, the nipple cut off to give one filling for a lighter. Red and Swan Vestas brown safety matches were available. The reds were highly dangerous and used by schoolboys for a forbidden playground game, sometimes causing
Putting the People of Ealing First
injury. They were so volatile they could ignite in a man's pocket! Cigarettes were sold in three sizes - 5, 10 and 20. A working man always bought the 5 for his day. 'Weights' for the poor, 'Players' for the richer. Amounts were only controlled by available pocket money. Dick Masons was a very respectable shop with a comfortable seat to sit on and chat. It tended to be for adults only and with no cheeky children. An escape!
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Save Ealing’s Centre: 10 years on
By Will French , SEC Chair
Save Ealing’s Centre (SEC) formed in 2007 as a vehicle for resident and community groups from Hanwell to Acton to comment on Ealing Council’s new policy of ‘regenerating’ the town centre. Ealing had to do something when the Westfield Centre opened causing our favourite stores like Bentalls to leave, but did it really have to replace cherished landmarks like the Empire Cinema and the YMCA with over-large blocks of bland architecture? When SEC began it saw itself as offering a channel through which the Council and developers could announce their new plans and people would feedback comments. SEC even published its own Vision statement to trigger debate about how Ealing could be made to work for everyone. Things didn’t turn out as expected. Hunger for development at any cost saw the Council cosy up to developers, leaving SEC and supporters feeling marginalised. Instead of constructive debate, the only way to influence anything was negatively – by objecting, campaigning, legal challenges or at planning inquiries. In this, SEC found huge public support. Residents gave generously. SEC now has a healthy reserve for future campaigns.
biggest being defeat of the hideous Glenkerrin scheme opposite the station. A government inspector supported SEC and overthrew the scheme Council planners approved. However, lacking the Council’s powers and resources, other SEC campaigns have struggled, leaving Ealing the poorer for it. Is the town centre better than 10 years ago when ‘regeneration’ began? There are certainly some positives. New businesses have returned to a centre full of empty shops after Westfield opened. Yet the stores are more down-market – Bentalls has given way to Primark – there are fewer of them and more cafés. Never mind drawing custom from the wider region, Ealing struggles to hold on to its natural catchment from W5 and W13. The idea Ealing can compete with Westfield is now laughable. It’s not just shops. The past 10 years have seen the loss of traditional town centre activities like the cinema, the police station and a major post office. The Town Hall is for sale and the library downsized. There’s even talk about relocating the council offices. So what now? The fate of many sites is decided. Should SEC disband? SEC doesn’t think so. Some big sites
remain unresolved, notably 9-42 the Broadway and Perceval House. SEC continues to offer a mouthpiece for the public. The fact that so much of Ealing is owned by two huge property companies whose first concern is their shareholders, makes it more important than ever that SEC survives. Towards a brighter future? SEC must change too, looking forward, not backwards. It must find ways to work with, rather than against, the Council and the big landowners. Things may be looking up. SEC is responding to the Council’s ‘Future Ealing’ listening exercise to re-engage with Ealing communities. A very new project, the Ealing Walk of Fame, could see landowners, Council, University and SEC work together to develop a new brand and economic purpose for Ealing town centre. The challenge is still to grow a place fit for all Ealing’s stakeholders. With goodwill on all sides, it can be done. Watch this space. See www.saveealingscentre.com.
Wins and losses SEC has won some great victories – its
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Parkour coming to Ealing By Michael Holmes Interesting. Ealing could soon have its own Parkour facility in Lammas Park, as the Council looks to improve facilities in the borough for young people. What makes Parkour so special? Parkour is the activity or sport of moving rapidly through an area, typically in an urban environment, negotiating obstacles by running, jumping, and climbing. Practitioners aim to get from one point to another in a complex environment, without assistive equipment and in the fastest and most efficient way possible. Parkour includes swinging, vaulting, jumping, rolling, quadrupedal movement (crawling) and other movements as deemed most suitable for the situation. Parkour's development from military training gives it some aspects of a non-combative martial art. Parkour
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is an activity that can be practiced alone or with others. It involves seeing one's environment in a new way and imagining the potential for navigating it by movement around, across, through, over and under its features. Having started in France, this new type of exercise is growing rapidly. Lammas Park facility According to Ealing Council, ‘The Parkour facility would be designed so that it fits into the park visually, utilising a range of natural materials such as wood and stone which will blend the area into the park.’ Following the result of a positive public consultation conducted back in Spring 2018, the project will now ‘go forward to detailed design stage which will involve talking with Parkour users and specialists to develop a high quality Parkour design which is sympathetic
Putting the People of Ealing First
to Lammas Park.’ Once that design is complete, another consultation will be run as to the appropriate way forward for delivering the project. There's likely to be a club associated with the Lammas Park facility and many opportunities to build on the interest in the sport in Ealing and beyond. For site plans and updates, see the Parkour proposal consultations on www.ealing.gov.uk, or email Rob Draper at draperr@ealing.gov.uk.
Parkour in urban
spaces .