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PCA Newsletter 29 - May 2008 |
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Sumo In
The Park
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This year’s Party In The Park, sponsored by John
Martin Estates, is nearly upon us – just a few more
weeks until the big day on Sunday, 29th June.
Admission to the event is by programme, available in
advance from selected Pitshanger traders or at the
gate, price £1. New activities this year include the
Fit For Sport Family Fitness Challenge, in which
family groups can demonstrate their fitness over an
obstacle course, and your chance to don a padded
Sumo costume and roll around the Arena in an effort
to make your opponent look even |
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more stupid than you do. All the old
favourites will be there, including the final of the
Pitshanger Popstar talent competition, the old-time
carousel, and the Dog Show (organised by the Village
Vet) which concludes with the four-legged farrago
known as the Sausage Race. There are
still some spaces left in the Craft Village, so if
you’d like to sell your arts and crafts products
please contact Mike Watkinson at
mike.watkinson@pitshanger.org.uk or 8998 7473.
As usual we’re looking for help. If you can spare an
hour or so before, on, or after the day, contact
chief steward Doug Winter at
doug.winter@pitshanger.org.uk or 8998 7758.
Please don’t think the work is unimportant, an
‘optional extra’ to life in Pitshanger. Without
volunteer helpers Party In The Park simply can’t
happen, if only for health and safety reasons. The
dirty dozen who make up the PCA’s Events Team do a
lot of the groundwork, but if there are no gate men
to direct the traffic, no program sellers to raise
the money, and no rubbish collectors to ensure the
Council hires us the park again next year, the
result of their efforts is nothing more than an
abstract art installation made up of flat marquees
and empty portaloos. |
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She’s
Back!
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Road
Resurfacing
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Our former secretary, Lynda Pullman,
has re-enlisted on the good ship PCA by agreeing to
co-ordinate our hand delivered mailings. Those of
you who help by delivering membership letters,
raffle tickets and paper-version newsletters will
appreciate the prompt arrival of bundles and the
clear instructions that accompany them, often
written in the blood of any newsletter editor or
raffle organiser who fails to meet the deadline.
(I’m out of here – Ed.)
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It’s not due for a few months, but
expect chaos on Argyle Road when it gets resurfaced
– the Scotch Common to Cleveland Road section
starting on 29th August, and Cleveland Road to The
Avenue on 5th September. Kent Gardens has its turn
from 25th September.
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Payback
Time
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Our Ward Police Team leader, Sergeant Steve
Driscoll, writes to correct our story about the litter clear-up
along the paths through the golf course. It wasn’t the Council
who provided the labour, as we reported, but a scheme called
‘Community Payback’ which enables offenders on community service
orders to make reparation to local communities. Part of the
‘Safer Neighbourhoods’ programme, the police have joined forces
with local councils and London Probation to create “this
innovative new approach to rehabilitating offenders”.
Typical tasks include removing graffiti and litter, pruning
bushes and trees to improve visibility, and making footpaths
safer for pedestrians. If you have an idea for a Community
Payback project please call Steve Driscoll on 8246 9406. |
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Scores
On The Doors
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For a while now the Food Standards Agency has been
quietly trialling a scheme for awarding and
publicising the results of food safety inspections
in the form of star ratings. The first ratings have
now started to appear along the Lane in the form of
“Scores On The Doors” certificates. Overall, the
rating scale goes from no stars (Very Poor) up to
five stars (Excellent). The good news is that the
scores published so far for the food outlets in
Pitshanger Lane fall in the range two stars (Broadly
Compliant) to four stars (Very Good), although there
isn’t yet a
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rating for all of them.
Congratulations to our four star establishments:
Lisa’s, West Kebab, Duffy’s, Golden Dragon, Lloyds
Pharmacy, Westside and Angel Café, and come on the
rest. Star ratings for food outlets across the whole
of London, and further information about the Scores
On The Doors scheme can be found at
www.yourlondon.gov.uk/foodscores. |
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Membership Renewal
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You know you put your membership renewal form
somewhere: the question is – precisely where? Now with our
non-patented ‘EeZeReNu’ process all you have to do is call
membership secretary Pam Walker on 8177 9999 or email her at
pam.walker@pitshanger.org.uk and another form will be sent
to you. You can also download a form from the PCA website
here. After all, can you really afford to lose out on the
motherlode of fact and fancy we call the newsletter? Can you? |
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Use It
Or Lose It
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Life as a trader in Pitshanger Lane is seldom
easy. When they’re not being arm-twisted for raffle prizes and
other donations by local schools, charities, and the PCA, they
have to deal with the vagaries of the economy both locally and
nationally. We happen to know that several of them are suffering
in the present climate, and the big supermarkets’ price-cutting
and ‘three for two’ offers are not helping. PCA
members can help preserve the variety of shops and the personal
service we receive along the Lane by having a good look at what
the shops have on offer. Some are little goldmines of oddities –
look at the range of spices on offer at the Nisa shop, for
example – while others offer good value for money. So before you
jump in your car and head for Tesco or Waitrose, just think –
could you save time, fuel, and the planet by walking along the
Lane instead? Start by checking what’s available locally: we
think you’ll be surprised, and if you are, please contact the
newsletter and share your discoveries with your fellow members. |
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Northern
Exposure
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Streets
for People
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After several months of renovation,
Northfields will be opening their new offices on the
Lane in June. They specialise in residential sales,
lettings and property management, and want to offer
us “competitive and enticing marketing ideas”. The
new firm is, of course, a direct competitor for our
good friend John Martin. Is he worried? Not at all,
it appears. As he says, “bring ‘em on!”
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In the April newsletter, we promised
to publish the latest Streets for People plan once
we had received it from Ealing Council. The plan is
now available for download via the PCA
Streets for People resource page.
The consultation and planning process
has been dragging on for so long now that it’s easy
to forget what the scheme is all about. To refresh
everyone’s memory and answer some popular questions,
we have published a
Streets for People Supplement with this edition
of the PCA Newsletter, which is also available for
download via the
news page.
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22.41
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A breeze ruffled the bunting at the start line, the
muscles of the finely-honed athletes tensed as
sponsor John Martin of John Martin Estates lifted
the starting pistol, and as dead pigeons fluttered
from the sky (next time use blanks, John) the whole
motley mob of over 250 runners, walkers, buggy
pushers and dogs charged off down Pitshanger Lane
and, for those who lasted, into the park.
Meanwhile, spectators at the finish line murmured
excitedly to one another – could he do it? After 22
minutes and 41 seconds
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came the answer: your editor, ladies
and gentlemen, is officially The Fastest PCA
Newsletter Editor Ever! – beating last year’s effort
by a full two minutes.
Lesser achievements include
Christopher Dettmar’s third successive victory in
the event, organised superbly as ever by a Fit For
Sport team whose enthusiasm for whatever they’re
involved in is contagious, and first places for
Melissa Manley in the under 7’s, George Hedley in
the under 10’s, and Daniel Brown in the under 13’s.
Our congratulations to them all. The full results
are available on the web site
Fun Run Page. |
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Pride in
Pitshanger
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For the second year, your committee is seeking
nominations so that we can make awards of £100 each to people
who deserve recognition for what they do for our community. Last
year we had one winner – Pat Chapman, the long-serving ‘Brown
Owl’ of St Barnabas Brownie Pack and a Brentham May Day
organiser – but this year we’d like two: one aged between 5 and
16, and one who’s 17 or over. Nomination forms are available
from the PCA secretary, Debbie Edwards, on 8998 2414 or email
debbie.edwards@pitshanger.org.uk. Winners are to be
announced at Party In The Park so we’d like your nominations by
Saturday 14th June, please. |
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Whatever
You Can Do We Can Do Better
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Just as the Fun Run is threatening to knock the
London Marathon off its pedestal, the St. Barnabas Summer Proms
might do the same for the inner London version. The inaugural
series runs from Monday 21st July to Friday 8th August and
comprises nine evening and two lunchtime concerts. They feature
well-known local musicians playing attractive programmes of
popular masterpieces, and the series concludes with a
traditional 'Last Night of the Proms' with full festivities.
More information is available from the
St Barnabas Web Site. Tickets for all evening concerts are
£10, but the lunchtime events are free with retiring voluntary
donations. Note that tickets are not available in advance, but
with a capacity of over 300 admission to the church is virtually
guaranteed. All proceeds will go towards the St Barnabas Organ
Fund. |
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Talk To
The Conker
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Rosanna Henderson is well known in the Pitshanger
area especally for her involvement with the Brentham Heritage
Society book and DVD projects. She also runs a variety of
training workshops under the banner of “Conker Consulting”,
aimed at those involved in the voluntary sector and small
businesses. One of the courses available is a workshop on
presentation skills designed to help those who are wary of
public speaking, and is particularly useful for people
presenting bids for funding or sales pitches for new business.
To find out more, go to
www.conkerconsulting.co.uk or call Rosanna on 07961 134033. |
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