Communities - West Ealing & Hanwell

Assault in West Ealing

2010-02-08T10:32:58Z

A man was assaulted in broad daylight just before Sunday afternoon.

Police cordoned off Elers Road at the corner of Culmington Road, West Ealing, at around 12pm after a man in his thirties was assaulted.

]]> A neighbour who was passing the area at 2pm, said: "There were lots of police outside and the area was marked out.

"There was blood on the floor; it looks very serious."

An ambulance crew was sent to the scene where they treated the 30-year-old man suffering facial injuries before he was taken to hospital.

Were you in the area? Did you see anything? Contact your Gazette team or post your comments below.

Barn Dance in Hanwell

2010-02-08T09:00:11Z

A barn dance and evening of fun will take place on Saturday February 27 in aid of Marie Curie Cancer Care - Ealing nurse appeal.

There will be music from Laurel Swift and '8 Bars Short' as well as nibbles, soft drinks, bring your own beer/wine and steps for barn dance will be called out from the front.

]]> Partners and experience are not needed for the event which takes place at St James Church, St James Avenue, from 7:30-10:30pm.

Tickets cost £7 for adults and a voluntary contribution can be made for children.
To book, call Martyn Clarke on 07952 630 487or email mariecuriebarndance@yahoo.co.uk

Change of venue for West Ealing regeneration talks

2010-02-05T11:39:15Z

A weekly drop-in surgery to keep people informed of the Green Man Lane Estate regeneration has been moved from the Jubilee Community Centre to the Green Man Lane Community Centre on the estate.

The surgeries will take place every Monday between 9am-12noon and on Wednesdays between 5pm- 7pm.

]]> For more information visit www.greenmanlane.co.uk

Hanwell Reverend out in the cold

2010-02-05T11:16:33Z

More than 30 people braved the freezing temperature on Friday night to raise awareness of homelessness and raise money for charity.

Reverend Liz Moody of St Christopher's Church in Hanwell, along with 30 members of her congregation, MP Steve Pound and staff and residents of West London YMCA, were out in minus four temperatures from 6pm to 6am.

]]> During the long and cold night outside St Christopher's Church, the group made shelter from cardboard boxes donated by Access Storage in Boston Manor and a total of £1,000 has been raised for West London YMCA.

Revd. Liz Moody, said she learnt a lot from her experience and said: "You really do get petty over a bit of cardboard when you think someone has more than you as it provides insulation and shelter.

"I was really thirsty but couldn't get a drink as we only got food if people gave us something or we had money and even though I had layers on my body, I was freezing.

"I listened to everyone snoring and talking and my cardboard hut collapsed on me and I screamed thinking I was being attacked.

"I got about an hour and a half of sleep and it's not surprising street homeless people look washed out.

"But the biggest thing I learned was that homeless people don't have the luxury of choice; they can't just make themselves a cup of tea when they want, or go to the loo when they want, or eat or choose what they want to eat.

One night felt like a slog, but night after night would be a total grind."

A total of 17 YMCA's held the sponsored 'Sleep Easy' event and the money raised will go towards helping provide people with a warm safe place for the night.

Donations are still being accepted by visiting www.justgiving.com/lizmoody

West Ealing Estate regeneration talks

2010-01-28T12:35:41Z

A weekly drop-in surgery is being launched for Green Man Lane Estate residents to help keep them up-to-date with the proposed regeneration of the blocks.

From February 1, A2 Dominion Housing group, in partnership with Rydon will be on hand to answer queries on the planning application submission.

]]> The surgeries will take place every Monday between 9am-12noon and on Wednesdays between 5-7pm at the Jubilee Community Centre on the Green Man Lane Estate.

Mandie Wilde, Resident Communications & PR Officer from A2Dominion, who will be attending the surgeries, comments: "We are looking forward to getting to know even more of the residents. Having regular face-to-face contact will help to ensure we are able to assist with most aspects of the site regeneration."

For more information visit www.greenmanlane.co.uk

Football fun at Brentside High School

2010-01-22T17:28:11Z

Energetic youngsters are invited to have fun, make new friends and keep fit at a seven-a-side weekend football league.

]]> The event is being run by youth team London Tigers and Kajima, a company which manages sports halls and other facilities.

The Kajima Community League runs from 12.30 to 2.30pm on Saturdays and they are also holding coaching sessions on Mondays between 4 and 6pm.

Both take place at Brentside High School in Greenford Avenue, Hanwell.

Email brentside@kajima.co.uk or call Jason Stocks on 020 7465 0007 to find out more.

Healthy eating for West Ealing School

2010-01-21T13:35:11Z

A primary school is hoping to lead the way in healthy eating as they will be running free workshops for parents.

As the Government announced a staggering 99per cent of school lunch boxes are unhealthy, Hathaway Primary in Hathaway Gardens, will be running sessions in conjunction with Ealing NHS to discuss the effects of a poor diet on children's learning and behaviour and practical tips will be given on making a healthy lunch on a budget.

]]> Parents who attend will be entered into a prize draw to win a box of fresh fruit and vegetables which have been donated by Riverford Organic Veg.

The school already has the Healthy School Mark and headteacher, Sarah Wilson, said: "At Hathaway, we really do take a holistic approach to educating our pupils.

"We believe that encouraging the principles of Healthy Eating for life is an important part of what children take away from their school.

"Doing this in partnership with parents helps to ensure that those messages are consistently reinforced within and outside of school."

Fundraiser in Hanwell for Alzheimers Concern Ealing

2010-01-21T13:32:14Z

Guests are invited to a fundraising afternoon in support of Alzheimers Concern Ealing.

The Charity of William Hobbayne with a centre in Lower Boston Road, will be holding the fundraiser on Tuesday January 26 from 1:45pm.

]]> Entrance fee is £2 which includes refreshments.

All proceeds will go towards helping Alzheimers Concern and the valuable work they do in the community.

Restaurant Review: Cardamom

2010-01-19T21:07:01Z

AT first glance, I felt like we were being led through a Mediterranean restaurant only to be seated at a table and offered the wrong menu - an Indian menu to browse, writes Paloma Kubiak.

With its stylish and contemporary panache yet serving Indian and Bangladeshi cuisine, the Cardamom restaurant in Northfields Avenue certainly offers diners a different curry experience.

]]> When you think of a curry house, you think of ornate paintings and figurines of the Gods and hear the Bollywood and Bhangra music in the background, but here, there are modern etchings hung on the walls draped with fine and colourful fabric and not a sitar note within earshot.

While its décor somewhat confuses the customer and this is by no means a criticism, rest assured, if you are after a traditional Indian meal then Cardamom is the place to go, as long as you don't mind the slow-paced service, and this is the only aspect which left a sour taste in my mouth on Friday evening.

We ordered papadoms with the usual chutney and onion salad to tease the palette before ordering our starters.

I ordered the lamb patha, shredded roasted lamb cooked with nutmeg and fresh coriander at £3.50 and this dish looked like a vegetarian sausage on the plate.
The lamb was cooked well and was soft if a little stringy and the coriander left a refreshing after-taste in my mouth.

My partner ordered the king prawn puri with mixed spices, wrapped in a deep fried unleavened soft bread at £4.95. The prawns were succulent and plump and the encasing wasn't too saturated in grease or fat.

For my main dish, and after hearing the seafood in this restaurant is a must-try, I opted for the golda shaak which consisted of jumbo prawns cooked with baby spinach, garlic, chilli and fresh lime juice at £8.95 and accompanied with pilau rice.

This was an ample main meal and came out beautifully presented in white ceramic dishes and topped with fresh herbs.

Again, the prawns were juicy and tasted as fresh as they had been caught just moments ago and the combination of spice and lime made this dish a real winner.

My partner plumped for a chicken madras, or murg-e-madras, which, with the two chilli signs on the menu, we were prepared with water and a Cobra beer.

The chicken literally crumbled in the mouth, it was soft and flavoursome and surprisingly, not as hot as we expected. The chilli and lime in the hot sauce fused around the meat beautifully and again you couldn't fault the presentation.

To add to the meal, we ordered a side dish of saag paneer, a traditional cheese, spinach and cream concoction, said to be one of the most popular choice in Indian vegetarian cuisine.

This dish was too sweet for my liking but got the thumbs up from my partner.

Washed down with two glasses of house white, our bill came to just over £45, not bad at all; but this was the quickest item to reach our table.

Paloma Kubiak was eating at Cardamom, 86 Northfields Avenue, West Ealing, W13 944. TEL: 020 8840 1634 or 020 8840 3908.

Vodafone helps Hanwell women make a difference

2010-01-18T10:23:22Z

Two Hanwell women have beaten the odds to help make a difference during a two month work placement with their chosen charities.

Matilda Mudyavanhu, 18, will be working for Positively Women which helps improve the quality of life of women and families affected by HIV and AIDS and Akiho Schilz, 23, will be working for Eastside Educational Trust which provides programmes and workshops for young people to access arts.

]]> The women have been offered the work opportunities as part of the Vodafone Foundation's 2009 World of Difference UK Programme which will pay each charity a total of £2,500 and winners will receive a new mobile phone to capture the experience.

Matilda will spend her placement as a youth case worker, and will also raise awareness of the organisation's services to a younger audience.

She said: "I feel incredible to be one of the ones chosen and I am being given a chance to make a difference with a fantastic charity."

Akiho first became involved with the Eastside Educational Trust in 2002 and this time round will be working as a project development assistant to help grow the Translingual Express project and develop an interactive toolkit for teachers of modern foreign languages.

She said: "I am delighted to have been chosen for a World of Difference placement and I'm looking forward to helping develop the Translingual Toolkit for schools as I feel language learning is a valuable skill and should be interactive, accessible and fun."

For more information, visit the Facebook fan page on facebook.com/worldofdifference.

Could you spare time for Ealing patients?

2010-01-15T12:26:35Z

Volunteers are invited to make a difference in their neighbourhood by helping to save lives.

The London Ambulance Service and St John Ambulance are calling on people to become Community First Responders (CFR) to be the first on the scene to help patients in life-threatening conditions.

]]> Hanwell Ambulance Operations Manager Pauline Cranmer said: "When someone's heart stops beating, every second counts in getting essential and basic life support to that patient.

"Our ambulances already reach a majority of patients in a life-threatening condition in less than eight minutes, but if someone living or working around the corner has the basic skills and equipment, and is dispatched at the same time as our staff, they can reach the patient even faster, giving them a much greater chance of survival."

An open evening will be held at St John Ambulance HQ Ealing, Priory Hall, Loveday Road, W13 9JT on Monday 18 January and Tuesday 26 January from 7pm to 9pm, where people can come along and find out more.

Successful CFR volunteers will be trained to use a defibrillator - a machine that restarts a patient's heart by delivering an electric shock.

Defibrillators are already used in London by staff and the public at train stations, tourist attractions and shopping centres to save lives while an ambulance is on the way.

SJA Community Response Lead John Newman said: "This is a great opportunity for community-minded people to make a difference by learning how to save lives.

"Volunteers need to be extremely reliable and trustworthy, good under pressure and able to remain calm in an emergency situation."

Volunteers must also have a car and had a full and clean driving licence for at least a year.

However, they will not be responding to calls on blue lights and sirens, and they will not be sent to incidents where their personal safety is threatened.

Anyone interested in finding our more should contact Marian Thompson at St John Ambulance on 020 7258 7025, email cfr@london.sja.org.uk, or visit www.londonambulance.nhs.uk/acr

Neighbours out in the cold after builders cause gas leak

2010-01-08T15:47:20Z

Residents found themselves out in the cold after builders cut through a gas main, sparking an emergency evacuation.

]]> The workman were renovating a house in Drayton Green Road when the accident happened.

Police evacuated neighbours from the street as well as those in Hartington Road, which runs along side, at about 1.20pm today.

Evacuee Sunni Holtman, 34, of Hartington Road, said: "I was just sitting at home and the police knocked on my door.

"They told me to go to the school and await further instructions.

"I don't expect it's very serious but it's good they're taking precautions."

A relief centre was set up at St John's Primary School, in Felix Road, and 17 residents trudged along the icy pavements to keep warm there.

Medics from four ambulances and three fast response cars where on hand at the school and the fire brigade were also on stand-by in the affected road.

Police sealed off the two streets and the surrounding area but nearby West Ealing Station was unaffected.

At the time of writing a team from Transco were on their way to repair the leak.

Acting inspector James Rawlinson said: "Transco called us as they were concerned it was such a large and it was going to take some time to seal it.

"We have closed the surrounding roads and evacuated 17 residents as a precaution."

Hanwell house fire

2009-12-22T12:18:54Z

Ealing fire crew were called to a blaze at a house in Bridge Avenue, Hanwell, on Friday afternoon.

A fire is believed to have started in one of the three bedrooms of the terraced house and fire-fighters were called at 1:05pm to tackle the blaze.

]]> Two people escaped the house and the property was made safe by 4:30pm.

Fire alarms were fitted but were not working and the brigade is urging people to check their alarms on a regular basis.

Ealing helps Blue Peter appeal

2009-12-22T12:16:53Z

Fashion students have designed special t-shirts for poorly children in India as part of a Blue Peter campaign.

The 26 teenagers under the supervision of fashion and design teacher, Lorraine Mitchell, have been creating t-shirts which will be worn as surgery gowns for children undergoing cleft lip and palette operations in India.

]]> Blue Peter's 'Send a Smile' campaign, together with children's charity Operation smile, aims to raise enough money to provide the life-changing operations, with £3 raised for every gown made.

Lorraine Mitchell who takes the fashion classes at the W13 Youth and Connexions centre in West Ealing said the girls aged 13-18 have done a brilliant job and are honoured to be a part of the campaign.

Ms Mitchell said: "The girls had so much fun doing this and they hope it will bring a smile to the children's faces before they go in for surgery.

"This is a wonderful campaign which shows that we do care and support children abroad and the designs were terrific.

"They've been really creative and the t-shirts are very glamorous, with flowers, stitching and embroidery designs.

"I'm very proud of their achievements and have enjoyed watching them use their imagination to help make these children happy."

The t-shirts took three weeks to make and for more information about the campaign, visit www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/bluepeter

Hanwell's public loo to be removed

2009-12-22T12:14:31Z

Community activists say Hanwell town centre will go down the pan after planning permission was granted to remove seating and a public toilet from the Lidl forecourt.

As part of a re-design of the forecourt on the Uxbridge Road, the public toilet which has never been opened, will be demolished and the shoe-shaped seating replaced with trees and landscaping to create a 'town square' feel.

]]> The area regularly suffers from anti-social behaviour and it is believed these measures will reduce future problems.

But, Hanwell Community Forum has been campaigning for years to open the public loo and claim there should be more policing of the area rather than punishing the residents and shoppers.

Carolyn Brown, chair of HCF, said: "We're very disappointed this decision has been taken especially as Lidl never stuck to the section 106 agreement to provide a public loo.

"Hanwell needs public toilets outside of trader's opening times and seats as there will be nowhere in between the clock and St Joseph's and Mellitus Church.

"The community toilet scheme is doing really well but is dependent on traders to remain open and many people have medical conditions such as Chrones Disease and who take diuretics for high blood pressure which means they pass urine regularly and need to know when they leave their house there is a public toilet.

"The seating was always badly designed as it was outward facing but the redesign is more like a dead space rather than providing a vibrant town square to the heart of Hanwell."

But Hanwell traders are pleased with the decision which was taken by the planning committee of Wednesday evening.

Mary Gill, Chair of Hanwell Associated Traders (HAT), said: "This has been going on for years and it's absolutely pointless having the loo there.

"The key has been lost for years and it's away from the street and never monitored.
"We have the community toilet scheme in Hanwell; designated areas for use, and these can be monitored by traders.

"The new plan looks nice and we just want to get this done, to make a much nicer area in addition to the hanging baskets and paving as part of the Hanwell regeneration."

In a report considered by the planning committee, it stated the visual and social enhancements would outweigh the loss of the toilet.