out&about Isleworth, Brentford, Osterley & Chiswick

FREE ISLEWORTH, BRENTFORD, OSTERLEY & CHISWICK

CHOCOLATE TIME With Bianca Marton

OCT-NOV 2015

STREETBANK

Meet your Neighbours

JAMBOREE IN JAPAN

Celebrating Cultures

BUSINESS MATTERS

with Hounslow Chamber of Commerce Local History � A Taste of Paris at Le Vacherin � The Coffee Traveller in Chiswick � Dinosaur Land at Watermans � TV Diets with Cillian de Buitléar

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With a beautifully refurbished bar, dining room & riverside terrace, the Royal Oak is a hidden gem in Isleworth and the perfect place to relax over a meal or a leisurely drink.

Can you believe Christmas is just around the corner?

Looking for the perfect place to hold your Christmas party?

Festive Fayre Meals 30th Nov to 23rd Dec (excl. Sun) for groups up to 50 Mon to Wed – 2 courses £18.50 or 3 courses £21.50 Thurs to Sat – 3 courses £23.50 Christmas Day Luncheon – 4 courses £55.00 Book your work or family Christmas meal with us by 30th Sept and receive 10% off your meal just mention Out & About magazine.

To receive more information and the full menu please contact Adrianne – I will be happy to assist you with your plans.

The Royal Oak, 128 Worton Road, Isleworth TW7 6EP | 020 8560 2906 theroyaloakisleworth@btconnect.com theroyaloakisleworth royaloakisleworth.co.uk

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CONTENTS EDITORIAL & DESIGN

Regulars 6

Editor Nisia Studzinska nisia@fhwem.com

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Design Nine8Nine

18

15

20

ADVERTISING SALES Gerry Devine gerry@fhwem.com

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Features 6

Claire Eccleshall claire@fhwem.com

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PUBLISHER FHW Events & Marketing Ltd 1 Times Square, Sutton, Surrey SM1 1LF www.fhwem.com Tel: 020 8770 3177

10 11 16 17

Directors Ross Feeney ross@fhwem.com

18 19

Isabella Harding isabella@fhwem.com

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Teresa Whitfield teresa@fhwem.com

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HOUNSLOW CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

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Chief Operating Officer Sally Smith London Borough of Hounslow Chamber of Commerce Ltd Spring Grove House, West Thames College London Road, Isleworth, TW1 4HS sallysmith@hounslowchamber.org.uk Tel: 020 8326 6416

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Published by: FHW Events & Marketing Printed by Direct Colour ©2015 FHW & out&about magazine.

While we endeavour to make sure that all published information is accurate, the publishers cannot be held responsible for mistakes or omissions or any loss resulting from non-publication of an advertisement. While all reasonable care is made to ensure accuracy of information, the publisher accepts no responsibility for the views or claims made by any of the contributors, advertising or editorial content included.

All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is strictly prohibited. The views expressed by contributors are not necessarily those of ‘out&about’ or the editor. Terms and conditions apply. Please recycle your magazine.

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Inspired by Seasons At Osterley Park Words Letting You Go by Anouska Knight Book of the Month Writing as a Career Hen Corner Sizzle and Sparkle Local History Isleworth’s Arcadian Past Business Matters Hounslow Chamber of Commerce

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39 42 49

A Pocket Guide To the Hounslow Borough Handmade Chocolates Too tempting to resist Get Creative In your neighbourhood Turner and the Thames Artist Talk Streetbank Sharing with Neighbours Hats Off to Top Hat The Secret of its Success A Good Night’s Sleep Investing in a Mattress Celebrating in Japan Scout Tales Can you Spot a Dinosaur?

At Watermans in Brentford Measuring Up Cillian de Buitléar on our TV Diets Christmas Island With Jan Lee Johnson Building Confidence Stagecoach in Isleworth Hounslow Highways Love your Street A Journey Shared With The Coffee Traveller Wild About Roofs Brings Lavender to our Rooftops Hounslow Business Awards Mark it in your Calendar Top of the Class With First Class Learning

Food 13 A Taste of Paris in Chiswick With a Date at Le Vacherin

Sport 32 Sporting Feet Running in Cold Weather

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LOCAL NEWS

A POCKET GUIDE TO HOUNSLOW out & about is delighted to have supported the London Borough of Hounslow publish a pocket-sized guide to Hounslow. The guide has been designed to give visitors and residents alike a taste of the sights, atmosphere and history of Hounslow. The guide gives readers an overview of the jewels in the borough’s crown that tourists can enjoy and residents can rediscover. It’s hoped it will also appeal to the tens of thousands of visitors from around the world expected in the borough during the autumn going to the Rugby World Cup in neighbouring Twickenham. From historical gems, and tales of colourful characters across an area steeped in history to details of a myriad of festivals that fall on Hounslow soil as well as bars and restaurants of note serving up the finest foods from around the globe, the guide is designed to whet the appetite and get people to explore.

and wanted to promote some of the borough’s best kept secrets so that more people can experience them and offer local residents suggestions for things to do.”

www.hounslowpocketguide.co.uk

Distributed to hotels and libraries throughout the borough, the guide is free of charge, and designed to be kept as a souvenir of a visitor’s stay. Councillor Steve Curran, leader of Hounslow Council said, “We are very proud of Hounslow

AUTUMN COLOUR HOTSPOTS A Walk in the Park Osterley Park is one of the best places in London to see the fiery hues of autumn in a glorious setting. Autumn colour starts from early October – red, gold and orange colours will start to cover the breathtaking landscapes at this time of year, and can go on late into November. Head Gardener, Andy says, “One of the stars of the show is the Shagbark Hickory, a stately tree of over 100ft which turns into a mass of soft buttery tones, accentuated by the bright yellows, golds and oranges of the garden’s Tree of Heaven, mulberry, cherry and service trees. Berry-laden shrubs such as rowan, rose, crab-apple and hawthorn punctuate the landscape with pricks of scarlet and purple.”

“The spindle tree provides delicious autumn displays, its purple, ruby and pink leaves accompanied by little red fruits that gradually split open to reveal bright orange seeds. We also have the spectacular Acer ‘Ozakasuki’ at the back of the long walk and it’s bright scarlet leaves can

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be seen from the Long Gallery. Visitors can also enjoy the bright yellows and burgundies of dramatic dogwoods, and spectacular bonfire orange shades of Fothergilla. Closer to the ground lie delicate clumps of Colchicum in pretty shades of pink and white.”

“The Tudor Walled Garden holds an autumnal surprise in the form of heritage pumpkin varieties and masses of colour from dahlias, zinnias, asters etc. along with purple leaved cabbages & black tuscan kale. Whilst in the park, the stately oaks and limes are transforming into glinting umbrellas of yellows and reds. Sweet horse chestnuts, mountain ash and whitebeam are a flaming mix of ochre, lemon-yellow and strawberry-red, whilst the Japanese maples create vivid splashes of crimson and saffron.”

There is no excuse not to get walking or be inspired by the colours around you.

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Cover Image Front cover photograph Shutterstock - Autumn Pumpkins

WELCOME “Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall.”

F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby Indeed, the crisp air is here to stay but its coolness is energizing. As we prepare consciously or for many, subconsciously, towards Christmas (oops, I said it!) life does get somewhat hectic; the markdown to Guy Fawkes, Halloween, Diwali, and Hanukkah lay ahead, and it feels like the air, crisper but plump with celebrations is upon us. We hope that this issue of out&about will help with organizing those busy times ahead; at the same time, allowing you to take a sneaky rest and indulge in some reading, coffee drinking and chocolate eating.

EDITOR’S TIPS Mick Inkpen Illustrations

Mick Inkpen is the author and illustrator of many wellloved children’s books and is best known for the quirky and charming Kipper the Dog series. This exhibition brings together a selection of his work chosen by the artist. The exhibition looks forward to Watermans’ Christmas show, Kipper’s Snowy Day. Mick Inkpen will be available at Watermans for book signings on Saturday 5th December.

Riverside Gallery, Weds 9th September - Saturday 31st October.

out&about is also delighted to be part of the ‘Pocket Guide’ to the Hounslow Borough, published by FHW. You can collect your free guide in your local library along with your copy of the magazine, which is packed with local celebrations and community spirit.

Enjoy wrapping up, watching the bonfires, walking in leaf blanketed woods and gardens!

Nisia nisia@fhwem.com

Chiswick Food Market Every Sunday from 10am to 2pm.

The Food Market Chiswick is held in the farmyard setting of the Grove Park Farm House, adjacent to the play area at Dukes Meadow. The market is a social enterprise and proceeds made from running the market are used to improve and maintain the park.

Brentford Food Market Every Sunday from 10am-2.00pm

A weekly market returned to the Market Place in Brentford, West London.

Focusing on high quality food, the market offers local people an alternative to the supermarket and a chance to purchase locally sourced, affordable produce.

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Nisia

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LOCAL BUSINESS

CHOCOLATE TIME Bianca Marton’s hand-made, dairy free artisan chocolate truffles are too tempting to resist, she gives out&about a taste and chats about her passion and new shop in Brentford till seven in the evenings. My favourite bits are interacting with the customers and thinking up new products and flavours.

Your favourite chocolate at the moment?

My all-time favourite is the raspberry truffle, but at the moment I just love the vodka cherry ones. The best seller is the sea-salted caramel truffle, so I’ve just started making a mini-version for sharing.

Favourite chocolate memory?

What made you decide to move to Brentford?

I’ve lived in the area for the past eighteen years, originally in Chiswick, then Isleworth and last year I moved to Brentford to be near our new shop.

How are you finding the community in Brentford?

We’ve built up a loyal following from the Sunday market in Brentford. They’re all delighted that they can now enjoy their favourite chocolates every day at our new premises. It’s great to see so many familiar faces.

Tell us about your new chocolate shop in Brentford?

We are just opposite the Holiday Inn at Brentford Lock. We are well known from the market for our range of dairy-free truffles, but the shop has enabled us to widen our selection of chocolates. We sell plain and speciality fruit and nut bars, a variety of fudges and chocolate covered honeycomb; all handmade in our kitchen downstairs. At the back of the shop is our cafe, which is a quiet safe haven for locals to enjoy coffee and cake. We have gluten-free and dairy free options, all made according to our policy of only using quality ingredients.

As a child I spent most of my pocket money on chocolate. A lot of it went on hazelnut bars, which are still my favourite.

When I started making chocolate bars, the first was the one with whole roasted hazelnuts.

Is it easy to make chocolate?

Why not come along to one of our chocolate workshops to find out? They’re very popular with groups of friends or for individuals looking for something fun to do. It’s perfect as a birthday treat or Christmas present. Workshops are three hours long and cost £49 each, that’s great value, because you leave with everything you make!

A perfect chocolate for Christmas would be…

A gift box filled with your own selection of truffles is always popular, topped off with our distinctive orange ribbon. We sell boxes of 6,12,18,24 and 48 chocolates.

9 London Rd, Brentford TW8 020 8797 2239 www.biancamarton.com

What is your first drink of the day?

I start with a cup of tea. I like everyday brew from Teapigs another Brentford firm.

Do you serve hot chocolate?

Yes, we make it in a saucepan on the hob in the shop. We use flakes of our own artisan chocolate, not powder. It’s very traditional and on a cold day, there’s nothing better. We also sell hot chocolate pouches, to take away and make at home.

Your typical working day…

I start the day by baking cakes at eight o’clock downstairs, before coming up to open the shop at ten o’clock. We’re open

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LOCAL BUSINESS

BRINGING ART TO THE HEART OF ISLEWORTH Lesley Miller shares her vision to develop the arts within the community the children in our community in an exhibition entitled ‘Christmas Through the Ages’. Anybody who would like to get involved with the exhibitions and projects are welcome to contact me directly.

lesley@southstreet.biz

TURNER AND THE THAMES

Michael Trask, Isleworth Ait

Five years ago I had a very successful career as an Assistant Headteacher. It was only when I took some time away from my career to raise my son that my life started heading in a different direction and I found myself in the world of arts.

I found going from working 60 hours a week to being a stayat-home mum quite challenging. Of course being a mother is a gift. It’s wonderful and rewarding role but at times it could be quite lonely. I hadn’t realised how important it was to feel like I ‘belonged’ in a community and I know that many others feel the same way. I started painting again and not only did that give me a sense of purpose, it led me to develop relationships with people in the community and to some very talented artists.

My vision is shared by other local artists. I am currently working with artist Sandra Beccarelli and some artists from Redlees Studios in Isleworth to provide activities and events within Isleworth. I can’t agree with people who state that they ‘aren’t creative’ and can’t ‘draw the curtains’. I believe that we are all creative in different ways. Research shows that participating in creative pursuits is good for our wellbeing. It can help us develop our analytical thinking, problem solving and our decision-making skills. It can also reduce feelings of depression and anxiety, which in our hectic, busy lives, many people suffer from. There is great value in making time to reflect.

The Square Gallery will be exhibiting artist Rosanna Henderson who specialises in Mosaics on Saturday 17th October. She will be giving a talk and demonstrating between 12-4pm. In November we will be exhibiting ‘Local Scenes’ and in December we will showing the work of

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JMW Turner had a lifelong working relationship with the Thames. He was born close to the Thames at Covent Garden and died in a house on the banks of the river in Chelsea. Perhaps not so well known are his local links to the river. At the age of 10, Turner was sent to Brentford to live with his uncle William Marshall, a butcher who lived in a cottage in the Market Place next door to the White Horse Public House. Between 1805 and 1806 he lived at Ferry House in Isleworth and sketched and painted scenes along the Thames and around Syon. He then moved just downstream from Chiswick Pier to Hammersmith for a short period and later bought land in St Margarets and had Sandycombe Lodge built as a home for his father until he became too frail to take care of himself.

Mathew Morgan will be giving a talk on Turner and the Thames on 24th November at 7.30pm. Tickets are £3, or free to members of the Chiswick Pier Trust.

For further info contact the Chiswick Pier Trust 020 8742 2713 www.chiswickpier.org.uk

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LOCAL CHARITY

SHARING WITH STREETBANK

especially busy in Hammersmith and Fulham where I’m from, Camden and Hounslow. I now have more than 1,000 neighbours in my square mile offering about £15,000 worth of things.

Log on and find what you need

The power of Streetbank and of people being generous never ceases to amaze us. From small and mundane things like jam jars to bigger things like guitars, sofas and help with languages and CV writing, our members have shared countless stories of how they’ve been touched by the help of their Streetbank neighbours. There are a few stories which have really struck a chord, like where Streetbank has helped Richard in Oxfordshire to overcome severe mental health issues - by fostering a sense of purpose and belonging; where a desperate request for furniture has helped Richard in Burnley back from the brink of poverty and where some simple help with gardening has improved the health and wellbeing of Barbara in Southampton; we love seeing how Streetbank is helping our members, our communities and our environment all at the same time.

Streetbank was founded by West London-based entrepreneur Sam Stephens in 2010. A recruitment consultant by profession, Sam is currently splitting his time between recruiting for the charity sector and leading the growth of Streetbank, now the biggest website of its kind in the UK and named by the Times as one of the 50 websites you can’t live without.

The story behind Streetbank…

The idea for Streetbank was sparked by a hedge cutter! I saw someone in the street cutting their hedge with an electric hedge cutter and I thought I need to borrow that. As I didn’t know them, didn’t know whether they were a lending kind of person I didn’t ask. I went home and thought, “That’s crazy, I bet half the houses in this street have a hedge cutter that they only use for an hour each year and every house has an electric drill that would be used even less. What we need is a list of things that people might share.” The more I thought about the idea the more excited I got. I was already sharing with Matt and Marie my immediate neighbours. In fact, borrowing things had led us to become friends and it was escalating. When we found we could trust each other, the things we were sharing got more generous. It started with sharing chairs for parties and the proverbial cup of sugar but over time I was borrowing their laptop, piggy backing on their Wi-Fi and we’d even taken the fence between our garden down. I thought if we started sharing on our street may be more relationships like the ones that I have with Matt and Marie would be sparked.

What is special about Streetbank?

Where do you envisage Streetbank in 10 years?

We’d love sharing to be the new shopping. For people on a Saturday morning to approach a DIY project not by heading down to B&Q but instead logging on to Streetbank to connect with their neighbours for all the tools and skills they need to get the job done. We’d also love to see Streetbank spread around the world. Members have already translated it into Spanish and Arabic and one of our members is currently translating it into French and we probably need someone to translate it into Greek but we’d love it to spread around the world.

www.streetbank.com

What does community mean to you?

Community matters a great deal to me. In the UK, our equivalent of the American Dream is to own our own property, own all our own things and be reliant on no-one.

On one level that’s great but it’s really expensive to live like that, it’s not great for the environment and it can lead to isolation. Streetbank offers people a way to live a bit differently, a bit more interdependently. It’s not for everyone and it takes a bit of work but when you try it you quickly get a taste for it.

Which part of London did Streetbank first target?

Streetbank started in Hammersmith and Fulham, where I’m from but it can be used anywhere and we now have over 70,000 members around the world. Our busiest cities are Melbourne, Brighton, Bristol and London. In fact, London is our busiest city with more than 10,000 members. We’re

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“CLASSIC CUISINE TO MAKE THE HEART BEAT FASTER �/��” The Telegraph 

Enjoy a

FREE GLASS OF PROSECCO when ordering from

PRIX FIXE MENU Please cut out voucher and bring with you to redeem...

CHRISTMAS BOOKINGS NOW BEING TAKEN...

Open Christmas Day. Receive 15% group discount, T&C’s apply, see website for details.

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CHRISTMAS DINNER 4 courses for £38.00pp

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FOR THE FIRST TIME IN �� YEARS PRIX FIXE MENU... ...now available Monday - Thursday and all day Sunday, Lunch and Dinner with no time restriction

Malcolm John was awarded South London entrepreneur of the year at the South London Business Awards, Malcolm John seems to have won the hearts and minds of the locals with a combination of passionate cooking and affordable Fine Dining...

monday lunch closed, dinner 6pm-10pm | tuesday to thursday lunch 12-2:30pm, dinner 6pm-10:30pm friday & saturday lunch 12-2:30pm, dinner 6pm-11pm | sunday lunch 12-3pm, dinner 6pm-09pm

RATED 76-77 south parade, chiswick, london, w4 5lf | www.levacherin.com

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LOCAL BUSINESS

PARISIAN BISTRO IN CHISWICK Le Vacherin offers authentic, affordable French gastronomy avec borlotti beans & Camembert arancini. The most French of the main events have to be the rump of lamb with Navarin garnish & truffled potato gallette and the Assiette of duck with seared Foie gras and preserved cherries. That all said, we thoroughly recommend larger bookings at this superlative Chiswick restaurant to collaborate in the demolition of either the whole roast sea bass with buttered fennel and confit tomatoes or the 28-day aged Châteaubriand steak with French beans, bone marrow, and – voilà – pommes frites.

Chef Malcolm John’s vision is to bring West London’s Chiswick a taste – an experience of the textbook Parisian bistro: affordable, simple French dishes served in an informal, intimate setting. You can find this kind of environment, as ideal for a romantic rendezvous as it is for a gathering of friends and family, on Chiswick’s South Parade.

Inside, a number of dining options await: an extensive and effortlessly authentic à la carte menu, two- and three-course prix fixe menus (available every day with no time restrictions, excluding Friday and Saturday evenings, special Sunday Lunch and Set menu offers, and naturally, a great list of wines to complement your meal (300 labels).

The menus at Chiswick’s Le Vacherin are regularly updated, reflecting the seasons, the availability of produce (fresh and locally-sourced is “de rigeur” here), and the whims of the masterful chefs in this French restaurant and bistro’s South Parade kitchen. Just as the produce that makes it to table is uniformly high quality, the talents that craft Le Vacherin’s signature bistro-style dishes are handpicked by executive chef, Malcolm John for their commitment to the value of traditional Parisian gastronomy. This is some of the most true-to-form French dining in London and, as befits a bistro, dining here is not going to break the bank.

While Le Vacherin’s set menus are popular options for those looking to be guided through an authentic French lunch or dinner at even more affordable prices, the à la carte menu is of course representative of this West London French restaurant’s offering. It’s a beautifully restrained and wellcurated affair, with les hors d’oeuvres, les plats principaux, side dishes and novel sharing dishes (poaching a little from the Spanish tapas cookbook) neatly delineated. Classic entrees like Escargots de Bourgogne make a showing, while other standouts include the Maldon rock oysters or the crab mayonnaise served with quail’s egg & samphire. The twicebaked gruyere soufflé, and the opulent beetroot carpaccio

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When you are booking a table through the Quandoo platform you can request in the comment box one of our wonderful offers: ‘The Steak Out’ - Steak, Fries & a glass of wine, £11.95, available Mon- Sun, lunch & dinner (12pm-7pm), excluding Fri and Sat evenings. ‘The Lobster Deal’- Whole grilled Lobster & Chips, available lunch & dinner, excluding Fri & Sat evenings, max group of 6, offer available while livestock lasts. ‘The prix fixe menu’- Mon to Sun, lunch & dinner (Excluding Fri and Sat dinner), priced at £24.50 for 3 courses. ‘The 15% off our award-winning food’- Receive 15% food discount from the prix fixe menu and the à la carte menu. Available Mon - Sun, lunch and dinner. Finally, our great ‘Toptable menu’ - 3 courses from the Prix fixe menu served with a chilled glass of Prosecco, available 7 days a week, lunch & dinner at £28.00.

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GUEST WRITER

LETTING YOU GO An extract from Chapter 1 of Letting You Go

by Anouska Knight Alex burst from the break in the trees frantically enough that, had she left the woodland a little way further up the roadside, she might have missed him altogether. Any other time it would’ve been odd, him just sitting there in his cab, pulled over awkwardly on the track running up towards the house. But not today. It was as if he were waiting for her, his unmistakable battered blue tow truck a beacon of hope where it sat in the dusty layby. Her burning lungs had gasped at this meagre stroke of luck, if luck had any part to play here. His being there had saved vital minutes. Precious time reclaimed by not having to make it all the way back up the lane to the house.

Ted Foster’s hands were already braced on the steering wheel, as if by some sixth sense he knew what was coming to find him moments before his daughter slammed herself, wild and startled, against his truck bonnet. Alexandra had looked crazed, unrecognisable when she’d sprung in front of his windscreen, the vein in her neck jumping with the emergency pulsing through her lean frame. Her eyes had been too white, as white as Ted’s knuckles had been while he’d sat there, solemnly regarding the truths he couldn’t take home.

Ted had made the call as they’d started through the small copse of trees and across the farmland beyond, calmly relaying to the operator the information Alexandra had managed to unscramble as her voice had cracked and her legs momentarily buckled.

Help is coming! The thought screamed through Alex’s head.

Dad’s coming, Dill, Dad’s coming.

Her pumps were no longer squelching against the dusty earth.

Alexandra Foster had been the fastest runner in her year group ever since St. Cuthbert’s sports days, but she couldn’t swim like she could run, and Finn knew it. People didn’t run at all in college, she’d found. They ambled. Everywhere. To the cafeteria, the art block – allowing the effortlessly honed muscles of youth to slacken. Alex hadn’t run anywhere since leaving high school last year, but dormant muscles had responded to her demands and she was flying. Ted was flying too. His own

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burst of adrenalin allowing a man of over fifty to keep pace with his seventeen-year-old child as they rushed in panicked determination to where she had left them.

Alex could hear Rodolfo’s heavy barks guiding them back to the water’s edge, rudely echoing above the peaceful gushing of the river. The Old Girl, the locals called it, Mind the Old Girl and her changing moods. They’d all had it drummed into them as kids. Dill too. He knew, he knew! Alex felt her throat tighten again, her heart twisting as they burst through the long grasses back into the clearing by the alder trees.

Finn had nearly reached Dillon further downstream when he’d turned and screamed at Alex across the water, screamed at her not to come in any deeper but to run! Run for help! So she had, back to the house, instead of floundering on uselessly against her own panic. She thought they’d still be in the water now, but they were back in the clearing, Finn kneeling in the dirt crouched over two wet gangly legs, dripping indifferently where they poked out from under him. Dill looked tiny beneath Finn’s teenage frame, as if the water had shrunk him. A mischievous little boy, playing possum.

Ted skidded in beside them on the floor, Finn moving instinctively from where he had been desperately pressing a rhythm into Dill’s sodden chest. Alex watched her father, useless again as Rodolfo’s barking turned to whimpers and Ted took over the task of thudding urgent hands into his boy’s chest.

‘You spit it out, son, you hear me? You spit it all up right now!’ he commanded.

Anouska Knight won ITV Lorraine’s Racy Reads competition in February 2013 with her debut novel Since You’ve Been Gone.

With the setting inspired by Anouska’s former special-occasion cake business, Since You’ve Been Gone was praised for its fresh style, humour and thoughtprovoking plot. Now a full time writer, Anouska lives in Staffordshire with night Anouska K her husband Jim, her childhood sweetheart, and their three children. www.anouskaknight.wordpress.com

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LOCAL BUSINESS

CHOOSING A CAREER AS AN AUTHOR Lil Chase explores the possibility…

I was working full-time when I wrote my first two books.

I only went part-time when I was commissioned to write The Boys’ School Girls: a series about a boys-only school that has just become co-ed, there are only ten girls in the whole school. This idea came from the fact that my male friends’ school became co-ed and my parents wouldn’t let me go. When I found out only about twenty girls signed up, I realised I had a lucky escape.

My name is Lil Chase, and I earn money by writing books.

But would I call it my job?

Recently I was invited to attend a career’s evening for the GCSE and A-Level students at my old high school in Ealing.

I planned to be honest about the pros and cons of being an author. I was expecting questions about salary, how to get published, find an agent etc. But the first question they often asked was the one that threw me, “What made you choose a career as an author?”

“Errrr…”

I found myself saying things like, “You can’t choose a career as an author; you have no idea if and when you’ll get your first book deal. And the second deal is harder to get than the first. Being an author is not really a career… until it is.”

There’s a chance I put them off completely.

The truth is, I have had many career ambitions at different stages in my life: actress, astronaut, pub manager, therapist, accountant; ‘Author’ was sometimes on that list, and sometimes not. I have had many jobs at different stages in my life: shop-keeper, bar staff, admin assistant, GP’s receptionist, I even worked a stint at Disneyland Paris. I finally ended up as an editor. But writing was what I was actually doing.

As soon as I could write, I was always creating stories. In fact, I still have a manuscript that I wrote – in pencil – when I was 10 or 11. It was called Gwynnie Goes Girlie, about a tomboy who tries to become a girlie girl so she can impress the boy she likes. I found the manuscript in my parents’ attic twenty years later. And it was the idea behind my first book – Boys For Beginners. The main character is still called Gwynnie.

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I’m sure you’ve heard it said before, but authors write what they know. I didn’t choose these ideas; they chose me. Then there’s all the stuff that comes with being an author that I didn’t expect: writing blogs, guest blogs, articles (hi there!) and the school visits, author talks, and seminars, and even a little ghost writing. It’s all part and parcel of being a writer these days, and I have to say, I love it.

So would I call writing my job? I guess I still think of it as my hobby. And I’m one of the very lucky people who earn money doing what I love.

Lil Chase will be appearing at Waterstones in Chiswick during the October half term. For more info contact Waterstones directly.

Waterstones in Chiswick 220-226 Chiswick High Road London W4 1PD Tel: 020 8995 3539

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LOCAL BUSINESS

TAKE YOUR HAT OFF TO TOP HAT CLEANERS Mike Moran reveals the secret behind Top Hat’s success A new customer asked why he should pay me more than his usual dry-cleaner to have his £700, hand-made suits serviced; while I don’t like to answer a question with a question, I asked him why he had these four wonderful suits on my counter and not on that of his normal dry-cleaners. His reply was, “Well, the suits have lost their shape, feel and body,” so I answered his question.

The difference he will be paying for is experience and investment in equipment, materials and staff, and the overall quality that produces. We always make sure we are up-to-date with developments within the textile industry – manufacturing and materials, and cleaning techniques and products. When it’s worthwhile we invest in new equipment and ensure our staff know how to maximise its capabilities. With reference to my new customer, the soap we add to the dry-cleaning process is the best you can buy in Europe, not the cheapest. This affects the “feel” of the garments, improves their antistatic properties, enhances the brightness of the colours and also offers better stain removal properties. Without getting too technical, it aids dirt particle suspension properties - the soap helps to suspend the dirt particles in the solvent and stops them being re-deposited on to other garments, causing ‘greying.’

Convenience is another factor: we open at 7am each morning, allowing commuters early access. Additionally, our customers can also collect their dry-cleaning 24/7, whenever it suits them, using our “Auto Valet” collection system. All this adds up to what we consider to be old-fashioned value for money, and that is why that new customer had his £700, hand-made suits on the Top Hat counter…

20 Devonshire Road Chiswick W4 2HD 020 995 9813 289 King Street Hamersmith W6 9NH 020 8741 2581 www.tophatchiswick.com Twitter: @tophatw4

The computer controlled programmes we use are not “factory standard” templates but rather we have used our experience and training to customize key aspects of the cleaning process: rotation of the drum, spin speed, solvent temperature, drying temperature etc. We also distil 80% of the solvent with each load; this is more expensive but it makes sure the solvent is perfectly clean and pure each time we process clothes. We also buy higher grade solvent in the first place, again not just the cheapest.

Both my manger and I have over 30 years experience in the drycleaning industry and we oversee our staff to assist and educate them in all aspects of the process. Our presser has thirty-three years experience in a specialised skill that requires at least five years of supervision before you can call yourself proficient.

20 % Discount

Present this voucher when you drop and pre -pay for your items

Excludes Suede & Leather cleaning and Items sent to The Hand Bag Spa. Valid until December 31st 2015

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LOCAL BUSINESS

A GOOD NIGHT’S SLEEP Bedtime Superstores is a family run business, which has been supplying beds, mattresses and bedroom furniture to West London for over 30 years. out&about gets to lie down and hear why a good mattress is essential.

It is so important to get a good night’s sleep as we don’t function well if we haven’t had the recommended 8 hours and a good mattress will help us to get the rest we need. Lack of sleep can hinder our performance and judgment, our brains work slower and naturally our bodies ache more! We should change our mattress every 7 to 8 years but we rarely do. So when you invest in a mattress, ensure that it’s the best quality you can afford and that it has the right levels of comfort for you.

A mattress should be comfortable to lie on. You should not be able to feel lumps and bumps of the springs or a huge dip where you lie. It should support you correctly and keep your body level.

Our main showroom in Isleworth has a huge variety of mattresses from basic spring to pockets with or without memory foam as well as an exclusive range of rolled foam and memory mattresses. We also stock a variety of kid’s beds to Super King size pocketed divans with or without storage!

NOW ON

It is also worth noting that, when we sleep, we pass through different stages of sleep each night. One of those stages called “rapid eye movement” (REM) is the stage of sleep when our most vivid dreams take place. To prevent us from acting out our dreams, we lose skeletal muscle tone. The skeletal muscles that support our back relax and we lose spinal support. So, a mattress that felt supportive while you were awake with the muscles active may perform differently when you are in REM sleep.

OPEN SUNDAYS FREE PARKING

Open Monday – Saturday 9.30 – 6.00 • Sunday 10.00 – 4.00

Sales Enquiries : 0208 568 2574 • Email: sales@bedtimesuperstores.co.uk www.bedtimesuperstores.co.uk OR VISIT YOUR LOCAL BEDTIME STORE… HOUNSLOW, 691 LONDON ROAD, (near Bridge Road) TW7 4ES EAST ACTON, 1-5 WESTWAY, (diagonally opposite Homebase) W12 0PT

0208 568 2574

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0208 746 1990

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LOCAL PROJECT

JAMBOREE IN JAPAN The World Scout Jamboree is a gathering of Scouts and Guides from almost every country in the world who, for ten days live together and experience each other’s cultures. Elliot Mead reflects on his adventure When I moved to Hounslow 8 years ago, one of the first organisations I joined as a 10 year old was the local scout group. 3rd Osterley Scout Group has been such an integral part of my life since that first day, all culminating this summer at the 23rd World Scout Jamboree. The World Scout Jamboree takes place every four years in a different country, this year it was in Japan.

Two years ago, I signed up to be a part of the 36 strong unit, The Flying Royals of Greater London and Middlesex West, going to Yamaguchi along with 40,000 other scouts from 155 countries. After two years of preparation, I can truly say that all the hard work has paid off. There is a great stereotype, which surrounds scouting of boys in shorts, tying knots and lighting fires, but World Scout Jamborees alters this image. The Kirrara-Hama Camp site, in Yamaguchi Prefecture, where this Jamboree took place, was alive day and night, with noise, laughter and fun. It was a brilliantly vibrant environment.

My unit were camped between Americans, Mexicans and Japanese scouts. The camp site was a mixing bowl of culture and a place where the slogan of the Jamboree, ‘Wa’ which means, ‘the spirit of Peace and Unity’ was evident. In a world where cultural differences can cause such chaos, this was a camp that brought cultures together. It was amazing to see just how similar teenagers from around the world can be!

With activities like cultural exchanges, and community days, where we visited a local high school, a trip to the peace memorial at Hiroshima and loads of free time to go out and meet new people, it was a great experience for everyone. The Jamboree sight was right on the southern coast meaning

we got some fantastic views, and at times unbearable heat.

With temperatures reaching over 40 degrees and humidity hitting 90% we found ways to cool down. Our rather British summer ‘back garden’ paddling pool, was extremely popular in our camp. One thing that will stick with me for the rest of my life was the friends I made there, not only within my West London group, but also with people from abroad brought together by Scouting. I will always keep one particular memory from this unforgettable trip; watching the sun set over the mountains in the West and the gigantic red moon rising over the ocean to the east, sitting with friends from San Diego, Rome, Helsinki and of course West London.

We also got to spend three days seeing the sights in Tokyo and stayed with Japanese families for three days in a Home Hospitality (HoHo) programme soaking up true Japanese culture near Osaka. The HoHo experience was incredible, seeing one of the oldest Buddhist temples in the world at Mount Koya and having a traditional Japanese dinner called Yakiniku and Sashimi sushi rolls.

It was a once in a lifetime trip, which I would not have been able to go on without Scouting. I would highly recommend that everyone who is old enough to join the scouting network from Beavers at 5 up to Explorer Scouts should get involved. It gives you the opportunity to go to some amazing places, meet incredible people and learn some really useful skills. If you would like to find out about Scouting and your local scout group then go to scouts.org.uk for more information.

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WED 28–SAT 31 OCT

HALF-TERM WEEK IS

DINOSAUR WEEK

Family show Visit Dinosaur Land Meet a life-size dinosaur Make a Dino bath bomb Take a Dino adventure

Box Office: 020 8232 1010 watermans.org.uk

DINOSAURS LAND ON OUR DOORSTEP Erica Weston discovers some bones at Watermans Tyrannosaurus Rex. Stegosaurus. Diplodocus. They’re words that conjure up childhood fascination and, as adults, continue to amaze. It seems impossible that these giants loped and roared their way around the same ground as we do, breathed the same air. And SO many million years ago!

A visit to the Natural History Museum to see Dippy the Diplodocus is almost a rite of passage.

Yet dinosaurs were only discovered in the 19th century and this half term there’s no need to travel further than our very own Brentford to explore their story. Dinosaur Week comes to Watermans with something for all ages. The highlight is Oxford Playhouse’s new play What to do When You Find A Dinosaur (4-8yrs) which follows the hilarious and

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extraordinary tale of William Buckland who discovered the Megalosaurus in the 19th century. The play ‘takes the skeleton of recorded fact and locates the funny bone’ according to the Guardian.

To make a day of it, exciting interactive performance artists Tea Dance for Little People are transforming Watermans’ cafe into Dinosaur Land (0-8yrs), where children will be able to explore a volcano, jump into a swamp and go on a fossil hunt around the centre. Watermans’ Director told us, “It’s great to be able to take a really interesting theme like dinosaurs and work with artists to create a bespoke programme that will really excite children and their parents.”

There’s much more, including fun dinosaur-themed drama classes for slightly older children (8-11) and the chance for anyone to make their own Dinosaur Bath Bomb (4+). Come on, Mummies and Daddies, why not make one for yourself for that well-deserved hot bath at the end of half term!

Dinosaur Week: Wed 28 Oct – Sat 31 Oct, various times. www.watermans.org.uk

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LOCAL HISTORY

CELLULOID DREAMS IN ISLEWORTH’S ARCADIAN PAST Linda Lingham Taylor on the world of local cinema It was on the 1st July 1914, that Vesta Tilley, a famous music hall ‘drag king’, cut a glossy red ribbon with large golden scissors and thus declared the new Worton Hall Cinematograph Studio ‘open’. Its owner, a once-renowned but now forgotten film pioneer, George Berthold (Bertie) Samuelson, then made a rousing speech declaring ‘war’ on the burgeoning American film industry, adding that: “We mean to win.” And thus began Isleworth’s foray into the world of cinema.

Bertie had been a film renter and cinema owner since 1910, but he harboured dreams of making films of his own. He teamed up with Will Barker at Ealing (one of an already established group of London studios which, locally, included Twickenham and Teddington) to make a 6-reeler called ‘Sixty Years a Queen’, (1913), about Queen Victoria. The huge profit it made (£40,000) enabled Bertie to set up a film company and in March 1914, to buy Worton Hall and its 9 acre estate (for £200!) and build his own movie studio.

Worton Hall, built in 1783, was situated in the midst of market gardens and orchards with Worton Farm next door.

But given the vagaries of the British weather, it was necessary to build a ‘light’ studio with glass walls and roof which dwarfed the local greenhouses. Later on, a much larger ‘dark’ studio was added to allow for almost 24 hour filming. It also had its own electricity generating plant, unique in its day. The studio’s debut film (silent, of course) was, A Study in Scarlet (1914), the first British Sherlock Holmes movie, which led the Bioscope magazine to declare the studio in ‘the front rank’ of English film-makers.

Bertie was known for his ‘amazing enthusiasm and boundless energy’. He made eleven films in the first year (the exhausted

George Berthold Samuelson Bertie

director, George Pearson, bolted for Gaumont Studios soon after) and for the next few years his star was in the ascendant, although he was heavily dependent on literary and stage adaptations such as John Halifax, Gentleman (1915), Little Women (1917) and The Admirable Crichton (1918).

In 1916, Vesta Tilley returned in, The Girl Who Loves a Soldier, appearing in drag as a British tommy, doing her own stunts on horseback and motorbike and bayonetting German soldiers in trenches dug on nearby Vincent’s Farm. Extras included two busloads of the Queen’s Own Westminster Rifles, German POWs held at the stables of Redlees House and wounded soldiers from West Middlesex

Worton Hall

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LOCAL HISTORY full of crude comedy and it was Bertie’s last major success.

At the end of 1923 the film industry suffered a huge depression and London’s twenty studios struggled for survival as American films flooded the market. But the bigger the problem, the harder Bertie fought. His next project was Rider Haggard’s, She in 1925. Bertie co-wrote, co-directed and co-produced, but the decision to film in Berlin meant costs escalated and the casting of the ego-maniac Hollywood star Betty Blythe substantially disrupted production. Worst of all, Bertie risked his own fortune, £10,000, to keep the film afloat - but it was a disaster. The film historian, Rachel Low criticised the ‘absurd over-acting’ and added that it was ‘years out of date.’ And Betty Blythe sued Bertie for ‘nonpayment’ of salary and saddled him with crippling legal bills.

In the end, he was forced to sell Worton Hall and he was made bankrupt in 1929.

Betty Blythe

Hospital. A reviewer declared that the film bore ‘the Samuelson stamp … the best in the world of film production’.

That year also saw the prestigious production Milestones which included lavish recreations of Victorian London and was hailed as Bertie’s greatest achievement. It is listed as one of the British Film Institute’s ‘75 Most Wanted’ lost films, as is A Study in Scarlet.

But post war, Bertie needed partners to keep his studio afloat. In 1919 he struck a deal with the General Film Renting Company and made the epic, The Game of Life (1922), which took 18 months to film. Its impressive sets included five hundred yards of London streets laid with five hundred tons of cobbles. Set pieces included: Queen Victoria’s coronation, the Battle of Inkermann and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, for which Hounslow Fire Brigade re-created a violent thunderstorm. But the film was hit with real bad weather leading to many lost filming days. On one occasion, a thousand extras were sent home, each paid a guinea a day! It was Bertie’s favourite film but it failed to find a distributor and he suffered huge losses.

By now Bertie had made more than seventy films but attempts to diversify his investments, including setting up the Samuelson Transport Company, only left him with more debt. His recklessness forced him into another short-lived financial partnership in 1922 and a third in 1923, setting up Napoleon Films to make A Royal Divorce. It was filmed in England, France and Austria, and followed Napoleon after his escape from Elba post Waterloo to the retreat from Moscow. The burning of Moscow was staged at the studio, where, after many expensive weeks of work by ‘a small army of artists and carpenters’, the newly built ‘city’ was burnt to the ground. The Sunday Express praised the film for its ‘tremendous sweep [and] grandeur’ but it was too long and

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And so the glory days of Isleworth’s silent film heritage were over and Worton Hall became a studio for hire, its latest challenge being the coming of talkies. In 1931 New Era National Pictures brought Bertie back to Worton to produce and direct ‘quota quickies’. (The ‘Quota Act’ of 1927 obliged American distribution companies to fund a percentage of British films cheaply). Standards plummeted as films were rushed out to maximise profit. Bertie made eight minor films, the last of which was The Crucifix, (1934) and in a sense he was ‘crucified’ too, returning as a mere employee to the studio he had created.

Bertie died in 1947, a forgotten man, a tragic end for the pioneer who had made over a hundred films but was ‘destroyed’ by overly ambitious projects, chaotic finances and, after a ground-breaking start, a failure to move with the times. But as the producer and director Sir Michael Balcon said in his tribute: “One always knew that Samuelson would put on a bold face and keep going, come what may … [and he and a few others were] the nucleus upon which the present [British] industry is based.” Meanwhile, Worton Hall awaited yet another saviour.

The story of Isleworth Studios continues in the Dec/Jan issue of out&about.

This article is based on Ed Harris’s recently re-published book, Britain’s Forgotten Film Factory (Amberley Publishing), which has done much to restore Bertie’s (and Isleworth’s) place in British movie history.

Check out the Isleworth Film Festival on Facebook for news of a screening of two silent films made at Worton Studios.

lindalinghamtaylor@gmail.com

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LOCAL BUSINESS

SIZZLE AND SPARKLE AT HEN CORNER Sara Ward stirs, bakes and picks We’ve been living the good life here at Hen Corner for over eight years now and it’s been a delight to welcome local schools and course guests to visit and join in so many of our activities. As soon as we started producing our own food, we became so much more aware of the seasons, the weather and the need to plan ahead. If you are well prepared, then you can surf the seasons enjoying every new opportunity and can dry yourself down after every unexpected British downpour!

In the garden, our current jobs include picking the almonds (if the squirrels don’t get to them first), planting garlic and broad beans to give them a head start before the frosts set in and covering the empty raised beds with compost as a winter blanket.

using my favourite recipe that includes fennel, chilli and red wine. We make our sausage meat with a mix of pork shoulder and belly which ensures that there is enough fat to carry the flavour and keep each sausage nice and juicy. Using natural casings, we fill long lengths before twisting them into a string of links and resting in the fridge before frying for supper or freezing for another day.

As we move more into November, we get ahead with some Christmas preparations. Our puddings are made on Stir Up Sunday allowing time for the rich fruity flavours to mature, I like to combine almonds, apricots and brandy for mine, but we always use a recipe that can be adapted to your favourite fruits, nuts and liqueurs. The tradition of Stir Up Sunday is based around a prayer read out in Christian churches on the last Sunday before Advent, ‘Stir up, O Lord, the wills of your faithful people, that they bringing forth the fruit of good works...’ Hearing this would prompt many in the congregation to rush home thinking ‘Stir-up? Fruit? It’s Christmas Pudding time!’ Why not prevent the panic and make your puddings with us...

Gift hampers and evergreen wreaths are made in the following weeks so that we can enjoy December knowing that much of the work has been done. We’d love you to join us for one of our courses, or maybe consider choosing one as a gift for someone special?

In the kitchen, a new project that we are launching soon is our Monthly Micro-Bakery. The first Friday of each month will find us baking all kinds of breads, cakes and pastries which will be available for sale along with honey, eggs, jams and preserves between 5-7pm. Find us on Facebook to follow the day’s bakes and put your order in.

Course dates: Simply Sausages: 1st October & 5th November Stir Up Sunday: 22nd November Make a Hamper: 25th November Christmas Wreaths: 28th November & 1st December

www.HenCorner.com

Now that the harvests have been gathered, preserved and stored, we begin our preparations for the autumn and winter festivities. First, we’ll be making sausages for bonfire night

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LOCAL BUSINESS

TELEVISION MADE TO MEASURE SUITS YOU SIR! Cillian de Buitléar reflects on our TV Diets budget. Netflix is shredding the cable TV market, as viewers spend their money choosing their own TV diet, rather than being forcefed junk. ‘Double-screening’ is transforming the way programmes are devised and made, as producers recognise that very few of us watch only one screen during a show. In fact, experts predict that pretty soon the living room TV will become the second screen, relegated by the interactive handheld device, where the real action will be taking place. Already, we sense this subconsciously: the glaring anomaly in Channel 4‘s award-winning ‘Gogglebox’, carefully cast and structured to create a true likeness of modern Britain, is that none of the participants uses their phone while watching TV. That is definitely not reality!

Can you remember what you were watching in early 2005? It certainly wasn’t YouTube, because that site uploaded its first-ever video in April of that year. Now, it’s hard to imagine life without it, or to remember how we all used to flock around the box and discuss it the next day.

The pace of change since then has been frenzied, and it’s picking up speed. If you want an early indicator of where we’re headed, pay attention to how your children get their entertainment, because where YouTube led, a raft of other platforms, technologies and billion-dollar businesses have followed, including some of the most remarkable success stories you’ve never heard of: Video on Demand, Interactive Content, SkyPlus, Twitch, Periscope and Vine, to pick a few.

The good news is that, however we choose to consume it, there will still be plenty of great content to enjoy. And the reason is that channels, whatever and wherever they may be, still need to fill those spaces between the advertisements. And someone will get paid for it. Just nineteen months after airing its first video, YouTube was bought by Google for a staggering $1.65 billion.

Now, that’s entertainment!

Cillian de Buitléar is a media consultant who has created and produced programmes for major UK and international broadcasters. www.debuitlear.com

Young people get their news from aggregator websites, or elsewhere in bite-size chunks, a BBC Online insider recently revealed to me that they have three seconds to grab a viewer’s attention, and a further four seconds to convince them to stay.

Generation Y watches and circulates short clips, taken from full-length shows they just don’t have time to see. They tune in to dedicated online channels where they can watch strangers playing video games with other strangers.

Why? Because they can, and they want to. And as soon as those two elements are in place, of course someone is going to provide a way to make that experience better, bigger, bolder. And then to charge for it.

The future is all about personal tailoring: tailoring content to suit your tastes, your time, your technology and of course, your

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LOCAL BUSINESS

CHRISTMAS ISLAND Local artist, Jan Lee Johnson discusses the ideas in her paintings The Painting, ‘Christmas Island’ is an oil on canvas from a series created during my recent M.A. research at Bath Spa University. As a child in the 1950s the arrival of a television in the household brought both wonder and unease through images of fear from around the world into the safety of a family home, much as it does today. The inspiration came from a tiny faded photograph and my memories and recollections of the time created the story within the painting.

The title ‘Christmas Island’ refers to the first UK testing of the atomic bomb on an island of that name in the Pacific near to Australia. In the painting the dark mushroom cloud is in the background, behind a self-portrait sitting safely on my fathers knee. The interior shows a TV black and white test card and wallpaper motif of 1950s design. It’s a celebration of a child’s party with balloons, cakes and jelly, showing the darker side of grown-up life; the escalation of the ‘cold war’ of the time. My painting expresses the growing sense of conflict between childish wonder and apprehension.

I have always loved painting and drawing throughout childhood and school, which led to a place at the Royal College of Art, an ambition of mine. A varied career in the arts followed, as a Scenic Artist at the BBC, also a fascinating time as a ‘courtroom artist’ that involved sketching quickly with colour pencils from memory, many court scenes for TV media.

paintings will also be on display at a new solo exhibition at the Bowman Gallery Richmond from 20th – 26th October. www.bowmangallery.co.uk.

The gallery will also feature my colorful painting ‘Arctictoc ‘ a parody scene of 18c gamblers betting for stakes and profit in arctic oil drilling. This seeks to draw attention to the very real threat that drilling for oil poses to the environment.

A percentage of sales from prints of this painting will be donated to Greenpeace.

www.janleejohnson.com

My larger paintings begin with an image found on the internet or magazine, or personal photographs, and develop through many drawings in my sketchbook before I begin painting the larger colour version on canvas, which can take sometimes months to complete. Sometimes, I work in acrylics but I find oil paint, though taking longer to dry, has a much richer surface on the canvas. I have three easels in the studio, so I can work on different paintings at the same time, to avoid ‘overworking’ and to keep them ‘fresh.’

I teach a popular drawing course with a difference, at Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, where students simply bring along their Ipad and learn new creative painting and drawing techniques using the latest apps to create digital and printable art works. The next Ipad drawing workshop is in October, details on www.kew.org. My recent Ipad drawings featuring landscapes and floral still life, along with my latest

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ft i g e h t d l i r ch u o y e v i g n? m Why not u t u a s i h ce t n e d fi n o c of Stagecoach Isleworth has been based at Gumley House for over 20 years and is opening two new sessions that your child can trial for two weeks.

A two week trial with this Flagship Stagecoach School gives you the opportunity to come and find out more about what Stagecoach has to offer.

The children have the chance to come and settle in as well as trying our classes in singing, dancing and acting without a commitment to a full term’s fees. They also have the opportunity to start making some wonderful new friends and developing confidence skills that will last them a lifetime.

Book your two week trial now by calling 01932 701910 emailing: isleworth@stagecoach.co.uk visiting our website: www.stagecoach. co.uk/isleworth

- 6 yearss)just £25.00. This (4 s e s s la C s cost Early Stagiael in an Early Stages classStagecoach school for two k tr cal A two wee end your lo acting. child to att r ancing and u d o , y g s in le g b n si f ena o s te u 90 min weeks, with

years) . This enables s (6 - 18co e s s la C sts £50.00 s e two Stages class school for Main Stag

ain ach k trial in a M nd their local Stageco g both A two wee e g and actin tt a n ci to n a ts d n , e g d in u g st n our older hours of si eriencing 3 weeks - exp weeks.

LOCAL BUSINESS EDITORIAL

CENTRE STAGE FOR DRAMA AND CONFIDENCE BUILDING Principal of Stagecoach Isleworth, Valerie Weyland tells us the success behind Stagecoach

Based at Gumley House, Stagecoach Isleworth has been providing quality training in singing, dancing and acting for over 20 years. As part of the largest network of part time performing arts schools in the UK, Stagecoach Isleworth is more than just a stage school; with its warm family atmosphere, it nurtures talent in students of all abilities.

We love watching our students grow in confidence and self-esteem as they develop their new-found skills. We encourage our students to learn from each other as well as from their teachers and this helps them learn how to listen properly, how to respect other people’s opinions and how to present their own ideas. Our experienced teachers encourage students to trust their ideas and abilities and to take risks and push boundaries with their performances. Some students go on to enjoy a successful career in the world of performing arts but whatever their ambitions, your child will develop a wide range of skills that prepare them for school, university and the career of their choice.

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Our research with 1500 Stagecoach parents in August 2014 found that over 90% felt their children had become more confident at school since joining Stagecoach. Parents also noted improvements in their child’s ability to: express opinions to adults they do not know (94%), listen attentively (89%), find innovative solutions to problems (91%) and make new friends (92%).

Most recently, students from Stagecoach Isleworth, have just returned from performing at Disneyland, Paris. The students lead the parade and opened the Disney Park itself, which was a first for Disneyland. Leonie Cooke, aged 9 said, “We were watched by thousands of people and it was the most exciting thing I have ever done!” As Principal of Stagecoach, I am delighted to now offer students the chance to go and perform at Disneyland, Paris. We had a great trip and the children all felt really special and we are looking forward to taking many more students and their families over the years to come. It’s such a memorable time, Stagecoach are proud of everyone’s achievement. I am also pleased to announce that Stagecoach Isleworth is opening two new sessions from September, one three hour session on a Saturday morning for 6 - 18 year olds and a new session for little ones aged 4-6 years. So do come along and get a taste for what Stagecoach is all about, book that two week trial and give your child the gift of confidence this autumn.

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LOVE YOUR STREETS A cleaner, brighter neighbourhood with Hounslow Highways For the last three years, Hounslow Highways has been investing in the transport routes in the borough whilst at the same time, enhancing the places where residents live and local businesses operate. This is all part of Hounslow’s vision of a regenerated borough both for economic growth and the improvement of the quality of life of those living and working there.

It has long been recognised that the quality of the roads and footpaths in an area not only improve communications and connectivity for people and businesses, but street cleanliness – such as the removal of fly-tipping and graffiti - together with the reduction of crime through improved amenity lighting, also allow an area to take significant leaps forward with regard to the local community quality of life.

Hounslow Highways have a 25 year contract to deliver highways and community-related services within the borough, delivering an investment programme of £100 million within the first years of the project to bring roads, footpaths, street lighting and bridges up to scratch. This level of investment is around 20 times what has traditionally been

made available for new roads and footpaths in this heavily populated urban borough. Halfway through the programme of investment, 571 road schemes have been completed together with 435 footpaths. Nearly all of the street lights – over 14,000 – have been replaced with energy-saving

Streets Ahead for business

More than a highways service provider Have you considered how Hounslow Highways could work for you?

Hounslow Highways offers the following expert services:

Combining the expertise of major road construction and maintenance companies, VINCI and Ringway, Hounslow Highways offers a widerange of services to private and public service clients across West London.

• New Project feasibility

For more information about our services please contact the Hounslow Highways Commercial Manager, telephone 0208 538 5678.

• Project and engineering design • Civil engineering construction works • Street lighting design, installation and maintenance • Road and footway surfacing • Tree and grounds maintenance • Drainage and environmental management • Road marking • Road and general signage

www.hounslowhighways.org

• Infrastructure asset management

LOCAL BUSINESS independent survey of the streets in the borough to see how improvements are being made in street cleanliness and antisocial behaviour. Year-on-year, since the beginning of the contract, the statistics have improved, even though it remains difficult to change the behaviour of some citizens. Hounslow Highways still have to deal with thousands of fly-tips and littering offences every year, but the tide is starting to turn.

LED (light emitting diodes) lanterns. The new lighting is in itself saving the borough over 40% on the energy bills for lighting the streets, together with significant carbon emission reductions.

What this investment means is better streets connecting the borough to adjacent areas, helping to make business easier and more efficient; communities can thrive where it is safer to both walk and cycle. Three times a year, environmental champions ‘Keep Britain Tidy’ carry out an

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Environment Officers in Hounslow Highways spend a lot of time with schools and community groups, making as many people aware of how everyone can contribute to a positive environment and “Love their Streets”. The large Junior Citizen event in the summer this year saw children from all over the borough come together to experience many aspects of how to be a good citizen and how to have a positive impact on the borough in which they live. At the other end of the scale, Hounslow Highways also has to enforce against recurring bad – and illegal – behaviour. A team of Enforcement Officers patrol the streets of Hounslow seeking out enviro-crime and issuing fines to the perpetrators. While it is always preferable that good results come from education and awareness, it is also important that all the good citizens of Hounslow see that those who are badly behaved and scar the local area are dealt with appropriately. Hounslow Highways are finally seeing that both approaches are coming together to help raise the environmental quality of the borough now and for the future.

The theme of “Love your Streets” is a strong one that everyone in Hounslow can grasp. Hounslow Highways is committed to continuing the investment in the borough and to working wherever possible with businesses and residents to improve the street-scene and support the vision for a growing economy and a much improved quality of life.

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WINTER RUNNING Practical advice from Sporting Feet Running is a great sport to participate in the whole year round but running in the winter can present a few more challenges.

One of those challenges can be the choice of shoe to wear when the weather becomes wetter. Most of us run in the local parks and commons where the ground can become muddy and slippery. Built with a more aggressive grip than road running shoes and often a water resistant or waterproof (Goretex) upper, trail shoes become the perfect solution for successful running as the weather worsens. ‘Layering up’ is a great way to keep the body warm as you begin your run. Winter tights, gloves and hats can also be a good idea to keep you running throughout the winter as temperatures start to drop.

www.sporting-feet.com

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AUTUMN ART FAIR

SATURDAY 17 & SUNDAY 18 OCTOBER 10AM - 5PM ADMISSION £4, CONCESSIONS £3, UNDER 16s & LAC MEMBERS FREE www.landmarkartscentre.org

LandmarkArts

Landmark Arts Centre

Ferry Road, Teddington, TW11 9NN : 020 8977 7558 Registered Charity No: 1047080

landmark-OandA-2015.indd 1

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TRAVELLING THE GLOBE FOR EXCEPTIONAL COFFEE FOR YOU TO EXPERIENCE

Join us on the journey

07712542341 WWW.THECOFFEETRAVELLER.COM INFO@THECOFFEETRAVELLER.COM

LOCAL BUSINESS

THE COFFEE TRAVELLER Neil Vanstone shares the journey so far We received a flyer through the door on the May Bank Holiday Monday, advertising the new Brentford Market starting up on 12th May 2013. My wife, Becks turned to me and said, “You should start up our coffee dream from this market,” I looked at her in admiration and replied, “They probably already have someone, and I don’t even know if I can do it.” She just said, “You can do anything!”

The following day Becks made a call on our behalf to Brentford High Street Steering Group (BHSSG) and introduced herself and our company as a local independent coffee business serving short shots & silky milk. Although we had over 15 years of coffee experience between us, we only had 6 days before the first coffee was to be served.

Within 6 days, we underwent food handling courses, purchased business insurance; bought a gazebo, borrowed a commercial machine and grinder from a friend, made a bench from old timbers to serve from and came up with a company name: my initials were used within it and Coffee NV was registered.

We opened with all the other traders on that great Sunday.

The only thing I remember from the day was working from one brew head as one broke half way through the day, the burr of the grinder and the change chinking in our little moneybox. I don’t think I looked up once! The Sundays that followed were just great. I loved being a part of something, building something from its very roots. We really can’t thank BHSSG and all the public that supported us in those early days enough, and even now at Brentford Market. The support that we felt and the opportunities we were given were incredible.

to Central America, The Far East & Africa. Becks came up with our strap line, ‘The Journey Not The Destination’. The van launched the following March. We started to do lots of local events but each week returning to where it all started, Brentford Market.

Since its launch we have been so fortunate to have been given other opportunities: working alongside some of the Greatest Street Food trucks and traders in London such as Bishopsgate in The City, Covent Garden and Earl’s Court to name just a few. These defining moments really gave us the confidence to open up our ‘Base Camp’ in Chiswick.

Here at ‘Base Camp,’ we believe we have created a little bit of Central America and bought it to W4, serving great coffee from a variety of different brewing methods, using our LA Marzocco GB5, Marco Uber Boiler, Mahlkoenig EK43, Syphon, V60, Woodneck & Aeropress. We love what we do and are enjoying the journey that we are on. We have lots of plans along the way: to open more shops and launch new products, but what we want to do above all is give our customers the greatest coffee experience possible.

www.thecoffeetraveller.com

It wasn’t long before each Sunday became more successful for us. We decided that we had to evolve and grow our initial ideas. This is when we decided to purchase a van and convert it. As the name Coffee NV didn’t sit well with me, I wanted to come up with a name that encouraged thought, excited possibilities, and engaged people in the world of coffee.

Whether that be exploring with us or travelling to new locations and learning more about coffee or the countries and companies that produce it. I wanted to create an environment where knowledge of coffee was shared.

The Eureka moment came, whilst I stood in our lounge looking at the Atlas map we had just put up, wondering which country I wanted to travel to next. It came to me, The Coffee Traveller: the van travels, the coffee travels, it was perfect! The next 8 months, was all about getting the van rebuilt and launched. We pulled on our sights of our travels

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Tailor made events with a personal touch

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out&about is the official magazine of Hounslow Chamber and is distributed to 10,000 homes and businesses across Osterley, Isleworth, Chiswick and Brentford – including to all Hounslow Chamber members.

Proven advertising to a targeted audience. Promote your business throughout 2016 by advertising in out&about with preferential rates for Hounslow Chamber members.

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for everything you should expect from your local independent chemist.

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www.outandabout.media out&about magazine is published by FHW Events & Marketing Ltd in partnership with Hounslow Chamber of Commerce. FHW are proud members of Hounslow Chamber. FHW Events & Marketing Ltd All Rights Reserved E&OE

GARNER & HANCOCK LLP SOLICITORS

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Hounslow High Street Market High Street Market Hounslow HighHounslow Street Market

Tuesday – Saturday every week

Hot food, fruit & veg, clothes Tuesday - Saturday every week and general goods.

Hot food, fruit & veg, clothes and general goods.

Plus, visit the new look Hounslow High Street…

Plus, visit the new look Hounslow High Street...

Tuesday – Saturday every week

Hot food, –fruit & veg, clothes Tuesday Saturday every week and general goods.

Hot food, fruit & veg, clothes Plus, visit the new look Hounslow High Street… and general goods. hounslow guide.indd 57

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Plus, visit the new look Hounslow High Street…

slow guide.indd 57

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Osterley Office - now open!

2015 Recognising Excellence In association with

Congratulations to our finalists Alfa Energy Group Alliance Dance Unit Armstrong Cuthbert Hairdressing Barclays Bank Beond Bianca Marton Chocolates Ltd Class 1 Personnel Consolidated Logistics Services Ltd Euro Trade Management Services Ltd Inquilab Housing Association INS Ishkama JSI Logistics Katchup Kingfisher Guardian Services Ltd KM Removals &Shipping Ltd Magenta Security MAKA Global Ltd MIT Skills My Plumber

Oasis Accountants Ltd Octink Online Support Computing Parker Car Services PGSD Piccolo Play Centre PMA Rachel Lawrence Pilates Rentlondonflat.com Russell Finex Staffing Match Stubbings Accountancy & Bookkeeping Services Ltd Super Inspired Ltd (Super Saturday of Sport) Suzanne Hendrick Recruitment The Mulberry Centre The Royal Oak Watermans Art Centre Wild About Roofs

www.hounslowawards.com Title Sponsor:

Proud Sponsors:

Media Partner: temporary & permanent employment

HOUNSLOW BUSINESS AWARDS

HOUNSLOW BUSINESS AWARDS SHORTLIST ANNOUNCED FOR THE 2015 HOUNSLOW BUSINESS AWARDS Shortlisted businesses had to face a panel of judges at a specially-convened judging day in early September before the panel decided who would walk away with a prestigious Hounslow Business Awards trophy. out&about is delighted to be supporting the awards this year; a full editorial on the awards dinner will feature in our next issue.

2014’s Awards Winners” Photo ©Paul Tanner Photography, 2014

An exciting selection of businesses have made the shortlist for the Hounslow Business Awards in association with Hounslow Highways. An unprecedented number of entries were received this year, and over 35 companies have been shortlisted. Winners will be announced at a glittering gala dinner on 9th October at the Hilton Syon Park.

Speaking ahead of the awards dinner, Stephen Fry – chief executive of Hounslow Chamber of Commerce – said, “We are delighted to be organising these awards for the third consecutive year. Since we launched the awards in 2013 we have been hugely impressed not only with the quality of businesses who have put themselves forward, but also by the enthusiasm and passion for these awards. Business owners and managers have had to work very hard over the past few years to keep ahead of their competition, and the peer to peer endorsement that comes from winning one of our awards really can make the difference when it comes to securing new customers and winning new business.”

Speaking on behalf of title sponsors Hounslow Highways, service director Rob Gillespie said, “Hounslow Highways is very pleased to be the headline sponsor for the Hounslow Business Awards for the second year running.”

The London Borough of Hounslow and Invest Hounslow are also proud sponsors of the 2015 awards and speaking on behalf of Hounslow Council, Councillor Sue Sampson, said, “The wealth of businesses we have in Hounslow is second to none. From the big corporate giants on the Golden Mile to the small, independent businesses which make our borough unique, I am very excited about this year’s awards and pleased that the council is backing them again this year.

The awards complement our Invest Hounslow aims which support and grow businesses in the borough as well as attract new enterprises to our shores. The awards have become a much anticipated annual event and are growing from strength to strength. I’m really looking forward to this year’s event and discovering the wealth of talent and enterprise we have on our doorstep.”

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BOOK NOW FOR THE MOST PRESTIGIOUS BUSINESS EVENT OF THE YEAR! Hounslow’s most prestigious business event of the year will be a glittering celebration of commercial excellence, innovation and entrepreneurial flair. As one of the most eagerly anticipated dates in the West London business calendar, the Hounslow Business Awards Dinner & Awards Ceremony, on Friday 9th October at Hilton Syon Park, is already the hot ticket for 2015, offering a fabulous opportunity for first-class networking. More than 200 guests are expected at this prestigious black tie event, all of whom will enjoy a glitzy champagne reception, a sumptuous three course dinner, the glittering awards ceremony and dancing at the after-party until 1am. The 2015 awards ceremony and after-party will be hosted by renowned radio personality and DJ Neil Bentley.

Guests will also have the opportunity to support the Mayor of Hounslow’s chosen charities: Contact the Elderly and Hounslow Toy Library through a charity raffle. The awards are brought to you by Hounslow Chamber of Commerce, title-sponsored by Hounslow Highways and backed by Hounslow Council and Invest Hounslow, with distinguished sponsors including: JSI Logistics, iBurbia Studios, Brentford FC, Class 1 Personnel, Hilton Syon Park and out&about magazine.

Tickets include a drinks receptions followed by a three-course meal - with half a bottle of wine per guest - followed by coffee and chocolates. Premium tables benefit from a VIP position in the room, two bottles of champagne for the awards ceremony and a quarter page advert in the Souvenir brochure given out to each guest on the night. You don’t have to be a finalist to attend the event, which is also a great networking opportunity.

Book your tickets online via www.hounslowawards.com

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HOUNSLOW CHAMBER

MEMBER NEWS BuyEnergyOnline relaunches as Beond to tackle climate change complexity

Chiswick based firm, BuyEnergyOnline has relaunched itself as Beond with a full range of consultancy services, responding to increasing client demands for assistance with energy market complexity arising from climate change.

Energy buyers are now demanding a lot more value from their consultants than just a competitive and transparent tender service and a risk management service. The entire energy market is struggling with increased complexity ultimately driven by the global climate change challenge.

Complexity is arising from realms of new regulations including more taxes, new subsidies and tighter energy efficiency obligations. Along with a bewildering range of innovative new energy technologies enabling energy efficiency, self-generation, renewable energy, batteries and smart grids.

The United Nations Conference of Climate Change is meeting in Paris this year, with the aim of securing a global agreement between all nations to reduce carbon emissions.

Scientists, economists, politicians, industrialists and even

Europe’s oil companies now agree the need to reduce carbon emissions to cap temperature increases at 2 degrees Celsius (with a 50% probability of success) compared to pre-industrial levels. This would require reducing annual emissions from current levels and eliminating emissions altogether in 50 years.

Europe and UK have been leading the way, with UK having delivered 20% reductions over the last 20 years emissions while growing their economy by 54%. However, more pain is expected in order to deliver against European reduction promises and global requirements.

Beond has the services, skills and expertise to assist clients navigate these energy market complexities arising from climate change towards the goal of improving competitive advantage and reducing costs.

Beond also launched West London’s Energy Innovation Hub last year with the aid of Hounslow Chamber of Commerce and Amber Rudd the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, to help local businesses with local energy challenges.

www.beondgroup.com

The Chiswick Calendar Launches Club Card The Chiswick Calendar is a local events and listings website which celebrates life in Chiswick. The home page has a different picture of Chiswick each day. The listings pages tell you what’s on and the features pages have quality videos featuring local people and businesses.

The Chiswick Calendar has now launched its own Club Card; giving members fantastic offers from top local businesses. Fancy a free tour of the Sipsmith distillery? Save money on meals out, getting your photographs printed or on individual bottles of wine and beer and the exclusive Chiswick Calendar wine case at The Good Wine Shop.

To join as a business and attract customers in this market, email info@ thechiswickcalendar.co.uk

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To join as an individual and benefit personally from the offers made by other businesses, subscribe by putting your email address in the box on the home page: www.thechiswickcalendar.co.uk then email info@ thechiswickcalendar.co.uk with your postal address and a card will be delivered to you.

Or you can go to one of a series of events hosted by The Chiswick Calendar and pick up a card in person. Watch out for details in the newsletter. Both the

subscription and the card are free.

www.hounslowchamber.org.uk

HOUNSLOW CHAMBER

MEMBER NEWS Foundation launched by global construction firm Saint-Gobain, in association with the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB).

The Entrepreneurship Foundation will provide twelve months of free practical training to 23 small businesses in the construction industry, including Wild About Roofs. The course will include an introduction to the latest innovative building materials and techniques, as well as support and guidance on how to manage and grow a business covering essential areas like finance, marketing, customer service and health and safety.

entrepreneurs at the launch events, I am confident that the Entrepreneurship Foundation will create a business network that strives to succeed within the sustainable construction sector, providing employment to many more people in the coming years.”

Last week marked the official launch of the scheme, with events held at the Saint-Gobain Training Academy in Flitwick, Bedford, and the Greenworks Training Academy in Birmingham. Launch events were attended by other successful applicants as well as members of the CITB and Peter Hindle, MBE, Senior Vice President for Sustainable Habitat and General Delegate Saint-Gobain UK, Ireland & South Africa.

Business owner Daniel MacAuliffe from Wild About Roofs said, “I am really proud that John has been selected to take part of the Saint Gobain Entrepreneurship Foundation.

Only twenty-four people had been selected and we are pleased that Wild About Roofs has been one of those chosen. It’s an initiative full of benefits. The training will provide important guidance for our company to develop its business and to grow. As a fast growing small company, we are job creators and all the support to grow successfully is welcomed. We are looking forward to see the training results.”

Steve Radley, CITB’s Director of Policy and Strategic Planning, said, “The Entrepreneurship Foundation will provide high-level training for SMEs within the construction industry, equipping them with the skills to become even more successful. With an estimated 224,000 new construction jobs to be created over the next five years, it is vital that smaller businesses have the tools to capitalise on this industry growth.”

For more information about The Entrepreneurship Foundation, go to: www. saint-gobain.co.uk/350foundation

Peter Hindle MBE said, “Fast-growing small companies are job creators, and play an important role in attracting new talent to the industry. Having met some of the

www.hounslowchamber.org.uk

43

HOUNSLOW CHAMBER

PAST EVENTS Summer / RWC Networking Evening Hounslow Chamber held its annual summer event on 30th July in the impressive surroundings of Spring Grove House at West Thames College. The evening started with a drinks reception, and was compered by Alan Rides of UKTI who spoke about the opportunities the Rugby World Cup is bringing to west London. Alan Rides was followed by Mick Wright of England Rugby 2015 who spoke about how this momentous occasion will positively affect businesses in our area. The speeches were rounded off by David Kurk,

former Premiership Rugby match official, current presenter and master of ceremonies. David brought a light-hearted and humorous energy to the evening and much laughter. A lamb roast was served and the evening was a great success.

The event was made possible by Class1 Personnel, Top Hat Cleaners, Pernod Richard and Fullers. Hounslow Chamber relies on its supportive sponsors. Should you wish to help us, please let Sally Smith know on 020 8326 6416.

2015 Table Football Tournament The following week saw the 2015 Table Football Tournament. The tournament was introduced last year and has firmly become an annual fixture. It is certainly networking with a difference! This year there were 12 teams playing over four tables and the winners were MTG, who came first and second with Willmotts coming third.

The wooden spoon went to our Vice President, Chris Durkin, and our book keeper, Kathleen Stubbings, who did score more goals than last year, but unfortunately not enough to beat any others.

The tournament is most competitive and much fun and will be repeated next year. Thanks go to our sponsors: Sound Moves. Willmotts, iBurbia, Pernod Ricard and Fullers. We could not do it without you!

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www.hounslowchamber.org.uk

HOUNSLOW CHAMBER

Food to Inspire, Taste to Savour

New members, Alpha LSG hosted a Michelin chef canapés and champagne evening for a number of invited guests at their start of the art Premium Kitchen at Heston, near Heathrow, on 16th September and enlisted the help of Hounslow Chamber to promote the event at Spitfire House. Despite the heavy rain, the event was successful with tours of the facilities being offered.

Chamber hopes to hold an event at Spitfire House very soon so you are able to see it for yourself. In the words of Cllr John Todd, “My idea of heaven last night. Thanks.

Did some business too!”

The venue is truly impressive and is ideal for dinners, conferences, intimate suppers, board meetings, seminar/ workshops. Alpha LSG can cater for groups as small as 10 up to 150 people for private corporate events. The space has to be seen - to be fully appreciated and Hounslow

Contact Richard Corney on richard. corney@alphalsg.co.uk for more information.

www.alphalsg.co.uk

A Royal Visit Sally Smith was honoured to be invited to meet HRH Princess Alexandra at INS (Integrated Neurological Services) one of our members. The afternoon was most enjoyable and a great opportunity for INS to thank its loyal volunteers and stakeholders. The visitors much appreciated the opportunity to speak to clients and carers alike and to hear of their experiences. INS work with those suffering from neurological conditions such as strokes, Parkinson’s Disease and Multiple Sclerosis. They also support their carers. Please visit www.ins.org.uk to learn more about their invaluable services.

www.hounslowchamber.org.uk

45

HOUNSLOW CHAMBER

EDUCATION, EDUCATION, EDUCATION EducationInvestor Awards 2015 11 November at the Brewery, London. The shortlist has demonstrated that through innovative partnerships and driving initiatives internationally E&E Education made a big impact in the education sector.

E&E Education/Architects International Ltd is delighted to have been shortlisted for the EducationInvestor Awards 2015, which recognises the innovation and excellence of the teams investing in, operating or advising education providers in the UK. Having experienced substantial achievements in the past 12 months, E&E Education/ Architects International Limited was nominated as finalist for the Grands-prix of the Year category.

Going up against the likes of Minerva Education, E&E Education/Architects Ltd will compete for the prestigious award with the winner being revealed at the EducationInvestor Awards 2015 black tie dinner held on

Celebrations in the Air Uxbridge College is turning 50 this year and they are celebrating! Since 1965, they have been providing education and training to thousands of students and hundreds of local companies.

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E&E Architects International Ltd has also been named Education Architects of the Year 2015 in Build Magazine’s 2015 Architecture Awards. They have been officially recognised as one of the top performers in this creative, technical and incredibly fast-moving industry. When it comes to the world of construction and property, one industry stands head and shoulders above all others in terms of capturing the imagination, bringing our cities and towns to life and creating landmarks and talking points that can last a lifetime. Building and sustaining trust is Mustafa Erdem, Director central to E&E Architects International Ltd. of E&E Architects Ltd The first celebration event is on 22 October, 3.00 – 8.00 pm at the Uxbridge Campus. If you were a student at Uxbridge College or you know someone who was, you’re welcome to drop in and take a look at how the college has developed over the years. They would love to see you so please register on the alumni site: www.uxbridgecollege. ac.uk/alumni

www.hounslowchamber.org.uk

HOUNSLOW CHAMBER

EVENT SCHEDULE 7th Oct

12.45 pm

Hounslow Business Lunch The Sun PH, 148 Hanworth Road, Hounslow TW3 1UG Free Lunch

9th Oct

7.00pm - Late

Hounslow Business Awards 2015 – Award Ceremony and Dinner Hilton London Syon Park, Syon Park, Brentford TW8 8JF Please visit www.hounslowbusinessawards.com

15th Oct

9.00 am -10.30 am

Business Breakfast at the Bulldog 556 London Road, Ashford TW15 3AF (large car park!) £5.00 for a full breakfast including tea and coffee Joint event with Spelthorne Business Forum and Surrey Chambers

21st Oct

12.45 pm

Chiswick Business Lunch Chiswick Moran Hotel, 626 Chiswick High Road W4 5RY Free Lunch

11th Nov

12.45 pm

Hounslow Business Lunch The Sun PH, 148 Hanworth Road, Hounslow TW3 1UG Free Lunch

22nd Nov

9.00 am -10.30 am

Business Breakfast at the Bulldog 556 London Road, Ashford TW15 3AF (large car park!) £5.00 for a full breakfast including tea and coffee Joint event with Spelthorne Business Forum and Surrey Chambers

25th Nov

12.45 pm

Chiswick Business Lunch Chiswick Moran Hotel, 626 Chiswick High Road W4 5RY Free Lunch

If you would like to attend any event please contact Sally Smith on 020 8326 6416 or sallysmith@hounslowchamber.org.uk or visit www.hounslowchamber.org.uk

Crossroads Care Crossroads Care is a local organisation that provide home based and community based respite care for carers of all ages.

Their staff is highly trained and very experienced. The care they provide is centred around the needs of the carers and the person they care for.

In addition to this service they also hold Caring Cafes for people living with Dementia and their Carers,

a monthly carers drop in where they hold informal tablet training and a Saturday Club for children with Special needs.

To raise funds to keep the club open they are holding their first Charity Ball on 9th October. The venue is Richmond Hill Hotel, tickets are £75 per person which includes bucks fizz on arrival and a 3 course dinner with wine. Alistair Wright, Radio Jackie DJ will present the Auction where they have many fantastic prizes which include a signed Chelsea Football, King George IV race tickets at Kempton, 4 ball golf, meal at Foxhills and many more.

For more info please contact Crossroads Care on 0208 943 9421 or email: info@ crossroadscarerk.org.uk

www.hounslowchamber.org.uk

47

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No call out charge

LOCKSMITHS | KEY CUTTING

Call Gary

07977432111

ADVERTISE IN To advertise in the next issue of out&about due out in August please contact our sales team

020 8770 3177

CATERERS Friendly, professional service • Private parties • Weddings • Corporate events • Business lunch buffets TAKE AWAY DELI (Monday – Friday) Delicious fresh lunch food • Salad bar • Main meals • And much, much more

Burchell’s of Old Isleworth 5 Lawrence Parade, Lower Square Old Isleworth, TW7 6RG

020 8569 9278, sales@burchells.co.uk

“We guarantee to beat any like for like quote”

The Concertina Grilles and Bars

Shutter, Grille & Gate Co Interior Shutters

Protecting Property Whether you’re a business or a home owner, you have property that criminals would like to take from you. You need to prevent that.

High protection shutters, gates and grilles provide essential security against attack, as well as visible deterrence. They may also reduce your insurance premiums, saving you money long-term.

Roller Shutters

Night View Roller Shutters

At The Shutter Grille and Gate Company, a division of West London Security Centre, we have over 25 years’ experience of protecting commercial and domestic premises in central London and the suburbs.

24hr telephone 020 8748 8222 www.theshuttergrilleandgateco.co.uk

Maths and English Tuition in Chiswick

Helping children succeed in Maths and English Call: 020 8930 1627 Email: chiswick@firstclasslearning.co.uk Website: www.firstclasslearning.co.uk/chiswick

TOP OF THE CLASS First Class Learning offer personalised tuition for all ages and abilities It is important that young people have a firm foundation in Maths and English, as these subjects crucially give them access to the world around them. Since opening our first centre in October 2014, we have now grown, in less than a year, to opening three study centres on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Parents are able to select the day and location to suit their schedule.

Once your child enrolls with us, they attend a First Class Learning Centre once a week for between 20 to 30 minutes per subject. This involves working through topics gradually, learning at a pace that allows them to fully grasp key skills and embed them for life. Students take hold of their own learning as they develop the key skills of reflection and working independently. During the week they complete daily short pieces of work to consolidate their learning.

This year, all of First Class Learning – Chiswick’s GCSE level students met or exceeded their target grades when their results were revealed in August. Many had made notable progress in school tests since joining the centre months before and both centre managers were delighted with their hard work and achievements!

With First Class Learning, children are placed on a programme that has been individually designed for them as a result of a free diagnostic assessment, carried out by the centre managers in the comfort of their own home. The programmes have been designed by a team of Maths and English specialists with a wealth of experience in primary, secondary and special needs education, and are supported by the British Dyspraxia Foundation.

L@outandabout_mag

www.outandabout.media

49

to Heathrow Business Summit 10 November 2015 The Heathrow Business Summit gives small and medium businesses the opportunity to connect and trade with large companies based in and around the airport, creating new growth opportunities locally, nationally and internationally.

How to get involved

If you are a small or medium sized business who would like the opportunity to connect with Heathrow’s supply chain, register your interest early.

For more information contact Claire.stepney@prospects.co.uk or call 01823 362 800 www.heathrowbusinesssummit.co.uk

Join the conversation and event using #heathrowcommunity heathrowairport

@heathrowairport

@Heathrow_airport

PRESENTED IN ASSOCIATION WITH:

2957_Heathrow_Connecting_Business_With_Growth_A4_V5.indd 1

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www.staffingmatch.co.uk Staffing Match, 50/52 Premier House, Cross Lances Road, Hounslow, TW3 2AA

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