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PCA Newsletter 60 - January 2012 |
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Time To
Step On The Brakes
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A 20mph speed limit looks to be
heading our way soon – at least that’s the main
recommendation in the draft report of last year’s
public consultation on the subject. But the overall
vote in favour was less decisive than suggested by
the earlier Streets for People consultation. The
Council poll covered the area east of Kent Gardens
and north of Castlebar Hill and Mount Avenue,
running up to the existing 20mph zone in and around
Brunswick Road. Of the 1335 responses – a return
rate of 27% – 45% were in favour of Option 1 (a
20mph limit with signage in all streets with traffic
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calming in some streets), 14% were in
favour of Option 2 (a self-enforcing 20mph zone with
traffic calming in each street), and 35% voted
against both options. Based on these results, the
Council proposes to implement Option 1.
Although it’s clear enough from those
figures that the majority of respondents were in
favour of some kind of 20mph limit, there was a
marked divergence from the norm in the Brentham
Estate, where the proposals for 20mph signage proved
to be very unpopular. The consultation results for
Brentham were 25% for Option 1, 12% for Option 2 and
63% against both options. The proposal is to apply
the new 20mph limit to the Brentham Estate but with
“careful consideration of what mechanism is used to
indicate the presence of a lower speed limit”.
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Ealing
Churches Winter Night Shelter
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This organisation provides overnight
shelter and meals for up to 14 homeless people at a
rota of local churches. St Barnabas will be playing
its part on six forthcoming Saturdays. Your
committee is pleased to support this and has donated
£500 towards expenses. ECWNS need volunteers to help
in all manner of ways and if you would like to
become involved contact Jennifer Snelling on 07930
378263 or email
ecwns.office@yahoo.com. Your committee recently
appealed for applications for funding and is pleased
to announce that all who applied received support.
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Hanwell
And Northfields Rotary
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Pitshanger On Camera
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PCA Chair Karen Jacks was a guest of
the club at a special evening held to highlight
their work in the UK and abroad, and heard about
fundraising schemes and activities such as sending
boxes of gifts to children who are not as lucky as
ours. Karen reports an enjoyable and informative
evening and reminds us to leave old spectacles,
spent printer toner cartridges and used stamps in
the bins at the Brentham Club and North Ealing
School which Rotary collects and uses in its work.
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Fans of Dancing On Ice may recognise
some local faces and places in a series of adverts
for the show’s sponsors, Macleans toothpaste, shown
during the breaks in the programme. They feature
Lisa Butler, a regular bar helper at Party In The
Park, who is one of eight women being taken on a
“journey”. Recently Lisa could be seen jogging in
the park and in Harrisons, and the series culminates
with the group performing a song in Cinnamon café.
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News
From The Lane
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Body & Sole are exhibiting at the
Wedding Fair at Ealing Town Hall on Saturday 4th
February and will have special offers on the day for
brides and grooms.
Morgan-Douglas Nuth of Old Oak Florist
has been chosen to lead the all-new Interflora
Flower School in which he will be designing and
supporting classes along with some of the UK’s most
distinguished floral designers. The school offers
“floral design experience days” as a “perfect gift
whatever the occasion”. Led by a top-class designer,
you’ll leave the three-hour masterclass, held in the
elegant Georgian setting of Chandos House in the
heart of the West End, with a stunning floral design
of your own worth £80 to take home. Drop in to Old
Oak Florist and talk to Morgan about the
opportunities available, or call him on 8997 5199.
Local “Dog Behaviourist” Caroline
Renaud can help you with behavioural issues you may
be having with your dog such as ‘selective hearing’,
separation anxiety, and pulling on the lead. Contact
Caroline via her website,
www.thecanineway.co.uk.
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Street
Wars Goes To the Wire
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It took a tie-break to separate the
two leading teams in this year’s battle of the
brains, a youthful Barnfield Road team (pictured
right) – several of whom looked barely out of their
teens – getting closer to the population of the
London Borough of Ealing (318,500) than their
rivals, Princes Gardens. The evening was competitive
yet fun. Many thanks to organiser Tina Moonen,
quizmaster John Bottom, and the PCA volunteers who
set everything up, ran the bar and cleared up
afterwards. The event, now in its fourth year,
attracted a record 14 teams, and petty rivalries are
developing nicely.
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Con
Corner
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The police report that a “confidence
trickster” called at a house in Meadvale Road at
6.50 pm on Thursday 12th January and asked the
elderly lady who opened the door to fill a container
with water under the pretence that he urgently
needed it for his car radiator. As she went to her
kitchen the man stole “some property”. The suspect
is described as a white male, 5'10" tall with short
black hair and an Irish accent. As always call 999
if you believe an offence is being committed, but
for advice as to how you can avoid being tricked
like this call our ward Safer Neighbourhoods police
team on 8246 9406 or 8721 2920.
The imminent switchover to digital TV
has provided scammers with yet another way to prey
on the elderly and vulnerable. They’re cold-calling
saying they’ve come to convert the TV to the new
system. They fiddle about behind the set for a while
and demand payment in cash: “See, it’s working
fine”, they’ll say. It soon becomes apparent it’s
not when switchover day comes, which for the
Pitshanger area will be in April this year. For
general information about the changes visit
www.digitaluk.co.uk, but if you feel you need
special help call free on 0800 40 85 900 or go to
www.helpscheme.co.uk.
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Dinner
Concert
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Pitshanger Pictures
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A treat while you eat! The concert, at
the Brentham Club on Friday 3rd February at 7.30 pm,
will feature light classical music including well
known pieces by Mozart and other popular composers.
The performers are Hugh Mather (piano), taking time
out from organising just about anything musical in
this part of Ealing, and Pauline Lowbury (violin)
who has had a “distinguished international career”
and broadcasts on television and radio. The cost is
only £20 per head (£18 for club members) and
includes a sumptuous meal cooked by the club’s
resident chef. For further information call Jacek on
07402 711982.
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Our local cinema’s winter season
continues on Monday 13th February at 7.45 pm with a
showing of the 2010 Cannes Grand Prize winner, ‘Of
Gods and Men’ (15), a dramatised true story of a
group of monks caught up in the Algerian civil war
who have to make the decision whether to stay or
leave. Price for adults is £8, including a drink and
a snack. More details
here.
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Who’s
The Governor?
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North Ealing School wishes to appoint
a Citizen Governor for a four-year term. Candidates
need to be resident in, or work in, the London
Borough of Ealing, and cannot be a Councillor or a
parent of a child attending the school.
Ideally the school would like someone
who lives or works in the local community and who
can bring a local perspective and an interest in
seeing the school succeed as a “vibrant provider of
learning for the children of the area”. The
Governing Body is responsible for setting the
strategic direction of the school and for monitoring
its performance. Governors recruited from the local
community are highly valued for the skill,
experience and objectivity they bring to
decision-making.
Applications must be in by Friday 10th
February. To obtain an application form call Alan
O’Neill, Clerk to the Governing Body, on 07879
848574 or e-mail
alan.oneill@talk21.com. For more information
visit
www.northealingprimary.co.uk or contact the
headteacher, Bob Fletcher, or the chair of
governors, Mrs Shirley Kenworthy-Wright, via the
school on 8997 2653 or email
cconacher.307@lgflmail.org.
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PCA
Christmas Fun Results
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We had several nominations for the
house with “the most tasteful outside lights and
decorations”, the bottle of champagne going to Nigel
and Estelle Hicks-Bennett of Castlebar Park. Members
are assured that the illuminations on the corner of
Brunswick Road and Lynwood Road by the A40 were
excluded solely on the grounds of being outside the
PCA boundary and not because of copyright threats by
Blackpool Borough Council.
Meanwhile, your editor’s quest for
Cracker Joke Nirvana takes another step backwards
thanks to Rosanna Henderson, who wins
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a bottle of wine with this effort
which we hope doesn’t offend our local trans-gender
community. “What do transvestites like to do at
Christmas? Eat, drink and be Mary”. Oh dear.
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Arts And
Crafts
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Following the success of the recent
Brentham Art and Craft Exhibition which showcased
some creative Brentham people, member Rosanna
Henderson is thinking of setting up an informal Art
and Craft Group with the aim of bringing local
artistic people together. Depending on response and
members’ interests, the group could undertake such
activities as visits, lessons, exhibitions, art
trails etc. Anyone interested should contact Rosanna
on 07961 134033 or e-mail
Rosanna@conkercrafts.co.uk.
Meanwhile the ‘Open Ealing’ project,
currently housed in temporary premises at 113
Uxbridge Road, comprises five floors of artwork,
dance studios, a café, a wide range of classes,
monthly film show and much else. Unfortunately the
building has to be vacated in the Spring and
discussions are underway to find the project a new
home, probably in West Ealing.
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‘The
Hanger’
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Next time you hear a teenager complain
about ‘nothing to do’ refer them to our youth club,
held at the Brentham Club on term-time Thursdays
from 7 until 9 pm. Aimed at young people in years 7
to 11 (i.e. between 11 and 16 years old), it’s only
£2 a session and facilities include table tennis,
table football, pool and other games including a
Nintendo Wii, music and a tuck shop. Email
youthclub@pitshanger.org.uk for more details
about the club.
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