Forum Topics

Charity Sales for Elderly Care Charity in Hanwell

Hanwell Neighbourly Care has offered support and companionship to the elderly in Hanwell for over 40 years and is run purely by a team of volunteers and a small committee. We are holding two sales in the upcoming weeks, these are essential to help us continue funding our work. All welcome, as are any enquries.- St Thomas the Apostle Church Hall, Boston Road, Hanwell.- 10th May: Clothing and Accessories. All sizes, kids/womens/menswear- 17th May: Bedding and Houseplant sale. Great selection from 50p onlyThanks for reading.

Alan Baverstock ● 2694d5 Comments ● 2677d

Our Councillors. How do they earn a living? 

Our Councillors. How do they earn a living?   This issue is raised in a contribution by Simon Hayes to an existing thread on the Forum.  He writes in respect of payments to councillors: “Bell and Sabiers seem to have it as main income stream”. Sabiers is my ward councillor and I have often wondered how he supports himself.    He has described himself as a writer.  When I searched Amazon for an example of his work, a message came back to the effect that this was an “unknown product”.   I was beginning to wonder whether Mr Sabiers was any more than a benefit claimant with a twitter account, but it seems he might be receiving a small income from the Morning Star, not Satan, worse - the communist publication of that name.  Bell, I believe, is a true-blue aspiring capitalist rentier.  Both of these “representatives” are “unknown products” as far as myself and my neighbours are concerned.  They fail to respond to correspondence.   One matter proved too embarrassing for either: the dubious circumstances in which Paul Najsarek managed to gain employment with Ealing Council. 

Andrew Farmer ● 2678d11 Comments ● 2677d

London Bridge Attack Inquest minimum 1 million pounds plus Why?

You cannot prevent 3Terrorists with machetes attacking London , we all know what happened ! Surely the money would be better spent for memorials to the poor victims and their families , the injured and the rest to extra surveillance on possible terrorists ! If I am wrong , please explain why ?

Dennis Brogan ● 2678d1 Comments ● 2678d

Libraries and money

When library closures were rumoured I wrote to Cllr, Bell as local councillor for me and Greenford is my local library. He said there were no plans to close it.  True. At that date there were no published plans. Now closure is planned unless  volunteers run it on the cheap.    Enough of false economy. Cut councillors allowances instead - cutting back to the expenses we received when I was a councillor 1990-98.

Graham Weeks ● 2693d29 Comments ● 2678d

May smile

- I can't believe I got fired from the calendar factory. All I did was take a day off.- I asked my North Korean friend how it was there, he said he couldn't complain.- Do I lose when the police officer says papers and I say scissors?

Graham Weeks ● 2678d0 Comments ● 2678d

Road Closure western End Mattock Lane Lido House

Forgive me but I have no faith in the Highways department of LBE.We were never told. We can't get an Ealing Gazette. Can anyone tell me what is happening at the junction of Mattock lane and Northfield Ave? Have asked WEN others and councillors. Is it another under the radar numptie scheme?

Arthur Breens ● 2697d16 Comments ● 2679d

Mia modley

Well done now for highlighting her fight against anxiety.

Helen Vipond ● 2679d0 Comments ● 2679d

Tesco Osterley - On The Move

Ref the news story on the front page what is the logic of developing the nearby Homebase site for a new Tesco and then building housing on the old site?  Why not keep Tesco where it is and build housing on the Homebase site?

Philip Coe ● 2695d49 Comments ● 2679d

Library closure petition

The library closures.  A WARNINGA petition in respect of this issue has been inviting signatures and a march is being arranged.   Beware of involving yourself in either. I read the Council’s case for what it proposes to do.   It merited attention.   I was persuaded to sign the petition out of consideration for the elderly who may value the availability of library provision near to their homes.   When I signed, I thought I would be joining a group of like-minded local people.  A recent update to the petition reveals that this is less an association of local people interested in a local issue than a protest with a wider than parochial agenda. In the update, John MacDonnell is described as “the PEOPLE’s Shadow Chancellor”.   A person involved is “Chairperson Africans for JEREMY CORBIN VALUES”.  Another supporter is a union activist, Alan Wylie, “library worker, socialist, anti-fascist, UNISON member.  In these days of Antifa, I fear “antifascist” no longer necessarily guarantees approval.The petition is not what it seems.  How many of the signatories are local people?  Avoid the march.  I am sure the organisers are peaceful folk who will respect library rules and march in total silence, but, given the decidedly left-wing agenda of the march, one does not know whether it might not attract rowdy undesirables into the Borough.

Andrew Farmer ● 2680d3 Comments ● 2679d

Council survey (see front news page).

The top reasons people gave for being satisfied with the area were the friendly people, quiet neighbourhoods and good access to public transport.  All things over which the council has no control.The top three reasons for dissatisfaction were rubbish and litter, crime and parking problems.   Two of which the council directly influence.Doubtless our 'dear leader' will see the former as a glowing confirmation of his politburo's 'management' of the borough while totally ignoring the causes of dissatisfaction.

N V Brooks ● 2688d18 Comments ● 2682d

How or why did this change come about ?

I remember the good old days when on Sundays the Shops kept closed and on Wednesday the Shops kept open until lunchtime only. What brought about this change that everybody now seems in a hurry? Do you reaally think this world is a better place for it now? Or just like me do you sometimes wish to be back in those good old days.

Oswald Whittle ● 2690d5 Comments ● 2683d

Is The Idea of a Gender Pay Gap a disaster for women?

At a wedding over the weekend I caught up with two of my college friends who were both working in the field of PR and we got talking about the Gender Pay Gap. They hadn't seen each other of years but they both had almost the same thing to say about the issue. Basically their job has become largely about ensuring the companies they work for are not seen as 'institutionally misogynist.'The challenge is that in both firms the highest paid people will be ones with particular professional qualifications and men make up the larger proportion who have the required skills. They have done everything they can to maximise the number of women recruited including short lists which are always split 50-50. However it is very difficult to recruit proportionally more women. Even though most interviews are carried out by women they tend to chose by qualifications and talent rather than by gender to the point that they select a lower proportion of women than male interviewers. The senior women are more concerned about the effectiveness of the people they work with than the gender balance at the firms. Even so at both firms a woman is likely to be paid more than a man with equivalent experience because of her scarcity value.This puts pressure on HR departments because it makes the gender pay ratio look really bad. You can't affect the numbers at the top end so the only solution is to look at the lower end of the pay scale. This has two impacts - firstly there is an unspoken rule to ensure that as many of the lowest paid jobs at the firms are taken by men. These are roles like cleaners and admin which would previously had been largely filled by women. Secondly they are reducing the proportion of women taken on at graduate recruitment level.The next result of a focus only on the gender pay gap is that women from lower income groups are losing out on much needed jobs and younger graduate women are not getting as many opportunities as they used to. In the longer term this is just going to make the gender pay issue worse.Both of my friends blamed the BBC for the problem saying that they see this issue purely through the prism of the gender pay gap and it has frightened many boards of directors into taking action. However, whether Clare Balding gets paid as well as John Humphries has little relevance for most companies.

Tricia Arbuthnot ● 2710d10 Comments ● 2683d

20 MPH SPEED LIMIT

I read about the 20 mph limit on Ealing Roads. The figures speak for themselves but I wonder why it is so high. While driving in Europe I have passed many towns where I have experienced 20 kph speed limits and have been told they are very effective.

Nicholas Beard ● 2757d92 Comments ● 2684d

Dockless bicycles.

Just received the following email.Dear Sir or Madam,The following response has been made to the ePetition titled "Ask the council to, Debate, consult in public and review the dockless bike schemes in Ealing Borough." that you signed:The Council’s policy is to increase the cycling mode share, this has significant air quality and health benefits and is likely to reduce demand for car parking spaces over time. As such, the dockless cycle hire scheme is helping us achieve this policy.  There were over 2,000 rides last week week using dockless cycles and with very few complaints from the public since the scheme was first implemented in September 2017.  The vast majority of bikes are left in reasonable locations for future hire.  Leaving them in multiple places actually increases, not decreases access to a bicycle as claimed. If you do see a bicycle completely blocking the footway, the contact details on the bike will allow you to report it; the operators have a few hours to respond as per our agreement with them and to date they have been reasonably good at doing so and have been generally compliant with both the TfL code of practice and the agreement with the Council. Also, it is incorrect to state that Manchester rejected the scheme.  It was a commercial decision by Mobike to withdraw the service.  The levels of vandalism and theft are significantly lower in Ealing, but there is no cost to the public purse when this does occasionally occur.

Dennis Bailey ● 2723d42 Comments ● 2686d

Ealing Broadway station

Here is some news on Ealing Broadway stationhttps://www.newcivilengineer.com/latest/three-crossrail-stations-still-without-contractors/10039105.article

Andrew Boynton ● 2793d15 Comments ● 2686d

Lets support local BYO entrepreneurial resturants!

Just thought we should be promoting something local that we can all celebrate and enjoy without it costing the earth.  So is this a comprehensive list?Matese Pasta lab , Uxbridge Rd , HanwellYa Sham Uxbridge Rd, West EalingLondon Seafood Restaurant ( which does more than seafood) Uxbridge Rd, West EalingMumbai Buffet , The Avenue West EalingVera Kitchen, Leeland Rd, West Ealing Nuki , Northfields AvenueIndia India,  Northfields Avenue

Peter Cranmer ● 2688d12 Comments ● 2686d

HEALING IN CHISWICK ON MONDAY

SECOND MONDAY OF EACH MONTH BETWEEN 11AM-1PMHEALING TAKES PLACE AT THE LONDON BUDDHIST VIHARA, THE AVENUE, CHISWICK W4 1UDHealing is given for any illness, stress or injuryYou don’t have to be sick to come for healing - it will make you feel goodThere are no side effectsIt is complementary to any other therapyIt is completely naturalYou don’t need to believe in the healing - it will help youDonations are welcome

Pat Smith ● 2686d0 Comments ● 2686d

Foreign Aid 14 BILLION UK budget , Met Police 8.6 Billion

The Uk owes 127 TRILLION , paying interest on this debt of over 50 Billion plus per annum ,that’s with austerity. If I went to my bank manager earning 30,000 pounds pa and owed the bank 200,000 , and asked my bank manager for a further 10, 000 pounds for foreign charity he would section me ! Why can’t the govt act like a business ? Why can’t the people who moan about austerity admit that foreign aid should be cut ? Foreign aid cannot be checked and we all know dictators  take the most , and stupid grants like 5m pounds for Ethiopian Spice girls are wasted on the rest ! This 13.8 Billion could stop knife crime , build schools and help the NHS.or reduce our debt and interest !

Dennis Brogan ● 2699d27 Comments ● 2689d

Crossrail Could Be Delayed Until 2021 - BBC

The BBC are reporting that a source involved in the project has told them that Crossrail could be delayed until Spring 2021. They are apparently doing some 'dynamic testing' at the moment and that is taking more time than expected. The medium likelihood is that it will open some time next year but the later date remains a possibility. Combined with the closure of Hammersmith Bridge this increases the suspicion that our transport infrastructure is falling apart and the people who run it are not very competent.

Dennis O'Shea ● 2707d31 Comments ● 2693d

Volunteer! Read with children

Do you remember a character from a childhood book as fondly as an old friend?If you do, you’ll know the magic of being able to slip into another world as and when you need to, or how books can make your world a bigger, brighter place.For bookworms especially, it’s hard to believe that anyone could see reading as anything other than empowering, or even just a pleasure. For the third of children from disadvantaged areas who leave primary school without being able to read well, often it’s nothing but a chore.That’s why we like to turn up on the doorstep, with a backpack of books, two little stools, and a pair of volunteers who know that words take you places. Every week, come rain or shine, our volunteers bring the magic of reading directly into families’ homes every week, in low-income areas across London.Doorstep Library volunteers don’t just read stories; they do the silly voices, handpick the books, and give special recommendations. By making it fun first, we get to watch children transform into budding readers. We love when parents get stuck in with the sessions too and encourage them to get involved in their children’s education.Sometimes though, we’re just there to give a bit of extra support, whether we’re passing on info about a family activity, lending an ear, or even just being a friendly face. Then, before we go, we leave behind a selection of books for each child to borrow for the week.If this sounds like the role for you, these are the basics. We run projects on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday afternoons in estates across Westminster, Hammersmith and Fulham and Lambeth.In Hammersmith and Fulham, we start at 3.45pm and finish at 6.30pm. With some projects starting 4.30pm and finishing at 7.00pm.If you'd like to know more contact Daniela Cardoso at volunteer@doorsteplibrary.org.uk

Daniela Cardoso ● 2693d0 Comments ● 2693d