Old Chiswick Protection Society (OCPS) reached its Crowdfunding target of £20,000 towards securing the future of Chiswick Eyot, a local nature reserve. The OCPS will employ professional gardeners to pollard the willows on the Eyot during the first two weeks in February, and have provisionally set the Community Bundling Day for Sunday 24 February.

The society has also this month cleared 101 advertising posters and a load of unsightly litter so that TfL can plant flowers at the Hogarth Roundabout.

If you’d like to help them with keeping Chiswick Mall looking lovely, check their website for details.

Hammersmith born Rosamund Pike stars as The Sunday Times war correspondent Marie Colvin in A Private War released next month (15 Feb).

US born Colvin, who also lived in Hammersmith when not braving combat zones, died during a rocket attack in 2012 while covering the civil war in Syria – just hours after telling the world how Bashar al-Assad’s army was ‘simply shelling a city of cold, starving civilians’.

A Private War is adapted from Marie Brenner’s 2012 Vanity Fair article Marie Colvin’s Private War which you can read here.

Rosamund Pike’s performance has been highly commended, but Colvin’s colleague Janine di Giovanni has criticised it for glamourising and fictionalising aspects of her life.

Di Giovanni recommends Barbara Kopple’s gritty documentary Bearing Witness, released in 2005, following the lives of four female war reporters, including Colvin, which di Giovanni believes gives a more authentic insight into her extraordinary career as well as the darkness of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and alcoholism.

Fuller’s was founded in 1845 by John Bird Fuller, Henry Smith and John Turner and the families still control roughly 50% of the shares and 75% of the voting rights, with six family members in senior positions.
The brewery’s buildings could be at threat if the follow the same fate of other historic London breweries, such as in Wandsworth and Mortlake which have been turned into luxury homes and shops as property values rise. It is estimated that The Griffin site could be worth up to £100m and be ripe for redevelopment.
Chief executive Simon Emeny said protecting the site’s heritage was “particularly important” to the Fuller’s board when negotiating the sale.
Penny Barltrop, Chair of The Chiswick Old Protection Society (COPS) explained that only part of the brewery has listed status, but not the warehouse site by Chiswick Lane and Mall. COPS have asked for the brewery site in its entirety to be listed.
“What makes this area special is the mix of industrial and residential buildings of historical importance. The sale was conditional on their continuing to brew on site. It does not say specifically how many years..”
Fullers is strategically shedding its brewing, wholesaling and distribution operations will free up management to focus on its 182 pubs and more than 203 hotels which make up around three quarters of its profits.
Founded in 1845, “It’s emotional, but the logic for doing it was compelling,” Turner told the Times on Friday. “The forces of change were just too great.”’
Simon Emeny, Chief Executive of Fuller’s, commented:
“This deal secures the future of both parts of our business including protecting the heritage of the Griffin Brewery in Chiswick, which was particularly important to the Fuller’s Board.”

Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) issued a statement saying it was worried that the ongoing consolidation in brewing could lead to a “reduction in choice, value for money and quality for beer drinkers”.
“It’s a very sad day to see such a well-known, historic and respected name exit the brewing business,” said Camra’s chairman, Jackie Parker. “While the Fuller’s family has stressed it has sought to protect the heritage of the Griffin brewery, we’d call on the new owners to pledge to continue brewing operations at the Chiswick site.”
Akiyoshi Koji, CEO of Asahi Group Holdings, Ltd, commented:
“London Pride is a fantastic brand with an illustrious heritage dating back to the 1950s and we are excited about its untapped international potential which Asahi has the scale and global network to unlock.”
“Based on the agreement, we will continue to brew beers at the Griffin brewery in Chiswick. It is and always has been the home of London Pride.” However, some redundancies are expected as a result of the deal.
The deal is the latest in a series that has transformed Tokyo-based Asahi into the world’s seventh largest brewer.

The Griffin Brewery

The Griffin Brewery, owned by Fuller, Smith and Turner, but now being sold to Japanese brewing company Asahi, has its main entrance in Chiswick Lane South.
Beer has been brewed on this site for over 300 years.
In the 1665 Act of Parliament enacted to sell Bedford House to meet the debts of Edward Russell, was mentioned ‘two messuages or tenements being lately converted into a Brewhouse’.
The brewery passed into the ownership of Thomas Mawson in 1685. He had his brewery behind the houses half way along the row, near the foot of Chiswick Lane, c. 1700 and the brewery’s Red Lion, perhaps the only inn facing the river, had been licensed by 1722.
The inn stood close to a draw dock, where barges were still unloaded in the late 19th century. The Fuller’s Brewery is an important asset of Chiswick’s, and the Borough ’s industrial landscape, all the more so as it is London’s only remaining large Brewery.

See details on how you can use your club card to get a free tour of the brewery here

With politicians banging on about building walls and closing borders, it was great to be celebrating the opening of a bridge last week.
The new footbridge at Chiswick Park has been 20 years in the making, its creation being complicated by multiple stakeholders including the business park, the boroughs of Hounslow and Ealing, Network Rail, and Transport for London. It will make commuting easier for the 9,000 employees who work there and ease congestion at Gunnersbury Park station.

Photographs above: Cyclist enjoys the new footbridge; Catherine Ramsden, architect

The 135m bridge is made up of three steel arches and Brazilian hardwood timber. The architect, Catherine Ramsden, from Useful design studio, said it would have a lifespan of at least 120 years. Its predicted longevity struck me as modest when you consider that the Cendere Bridge, still in use in Turkey, dates to around 200 CE. Those Romans knew how to build bridges.
Catherine, who helped design the Millenium Bridge, yes, the wobbly one, explained the choice of materials. The decking is aesthetically pleasing with a beautiful warm reddish brown hue, and practical, as the wood self-oils and needs minimal maintenance, a major concern in their brief as London Borough of Council are responsible for its maintenance. But won’t people slip on the wet wood? Each plank of wood had been fitted with a non-slip strip.

Tfl’s signage pushed to the left of the station could have been more helpful

Thanks to the bridge, commuters no longer have to trudge a more circuitous route via the high street to enter the 1.8 million sq ft business campus. Thousands of pedestrians are expected to use it daily. Once they find it – the bridge is not visible as you leave Chiswick Park station, and TfL had, when I visited last Thursday (24 Jan), one board directing passengers to the new bridge with an arrow pointing right and another pointing, somewhat whimsically, towards the sky and left, so I should explain that on exiting you turn right, walk down Bollo Lane, then left into Colonial Drive and then over the bridge, waving back to the easily distracted workers in a window to your left, before arriving at the North end of the park and No 7 building. Enjoy!

walk down Bollo Lane, and turn left at the white buildings shown at far end of this picture.

Read more stories on The Chiswick Calendar

See also: Gunnersbury station now “dangerously overcrowded” says Ruth Cadbury

See also: Chiswick Park bridge agreement signed

International TV companies are moving their channel licences for the EU out of the UK to make sure they are still valid post Brexit.

Discovery, based in Chiswick Park, is moving its channel licences for services in the EU to the Netherlands. This is potentially bad news for Chiswick Business Park which is home to six entertainment and 16 media companies.

“Given Brexit, Discovery is now applying for new broadcast licences in the Netherlands for its EU pay-TV channel portfolio,” a spokesperson for the company told TVB Europe.

But they are still committed to the UK, he said, “Discovery is retaining a large hub in the UK and has renewed on a long-term, the lease for its main London office in West London, which houses more than 1,000 people”.

“Move will send a chill through the British TV industry”

Variety, the American media magazine, commented, “Discovery is one of the major international channel operators, with a raft of services in Britain and the rest of Europe. Its Netherlands move will send a chill through the British TV industry as it grapples with the implications of the U.K. leaving the E.U”.

Politicians don’t have that great a reputation when it comes to telling the truth.

The Brexit debate has been shrouded by misinformation from the very beginning, with both sides of the discussion accused of misleading the public.

Benedict Pringle is the founder of politicaladvertising.co.uk, a website which offers commentary on ‘the grubbiest part of the dirtiest business’, he campaigns for a higher standard of regulation in political advertising. He will be speaking to Greg Dawson, a reporter for the BBC’s Politics Live.

Hear what he and others have to say at The Chiswick Calendar’s next Media Club at The Pilot pub, 56 Wellesley Road, Chiswick, London, W4 4BZ on Tuesday 12 February at 8pm. Get your tickets here

Do you like football? What are your plans for half term? Brentford FC’s Community Sports Trust runs Soccer Schools, providing every participant with fun and technical football sessions during each half-term and also during term time. Along with developing their technical skills, children also improve their social skills.

Promising young players are referred by the coaches to the football development department of the Trust, providing an opportunity for talented players to make the first step onto the football ladder towards elite football. The Trust runs separate male and female Football Development Centres and recently hosted a girls football festival with more than 70 girls from seven local schools taking part.

Meet the Players

 Each year the Brentford FC Community Sports Trust holds a Meet the Players Day, which this year will be at Uxbridge High School’s exclusive 3G indoor training facility from 12.45 until 6.45pm on Tuesday 19 February. The event is open to boys and girls in school years one to seven (those aged five to 13 years old).

Participants will take part in a training session with the Trust’s FA qualified coaching staff in preparation for matches in the afternoon. After the snack-lunch and a warm-up, the Brentford First Team players will arrive and get stuck in to some small-sided games with young Bees’ fans, playing alongside them and offering a bit of coaching. The day will conclude with the opportunity to meet all the Brentford FC 1st team stars, get autographs and take photographs

Meet the Players day costs £35 per-player. Places are limited and can only be booked online. A first booking period is open between 21 January and 6 February.
A second booking period will be available between 8 February and 12 February if spaces remain. For full information search for meettheplayers2019.eventbrite.co.uk

The Soccer Schools will take place on 20, 21 and 22 February. Search for febss2019.eventbrite.co.uk

A cyclist was knocked off his bike by a car in Chiswick High Rd on Saturday. The 58 year old local man who is an experienced cyclist was travelling east along the High Rd in the marked cycle lane when he was hit by a car turning into Brackley Rd.

Fortunately the man went home with only cuts and bruises, so normally that wouldn’t make news. But it does highlight the point cyclists have been making loud and clear over the past 18 months: they are vulnerable and at risk.

Shocking” casualty figures

The photograph of the accident, taken from the upper deck of a bus, prompted Dr Edward Seaton, a hospital consultant who cycles from Chiswick to central London each day for work, to do some number crunching.

He found that along Chiswick High Rd (from Goldhawk Rd to Chiswick roundabout) over the 12 year period 2015 – 2017,  by far the highest group of road casualties were cyclists. There were 162 cyclist casualties of whom 14 sustained serious injuries; 95 pedestrian casualties of whom 20 sustained severe injuries with one fatality (articulated lorry); 101 car occupants injured of whom 3 sustained serious injuries.

In King St (Goldhawk Rd to Hammersmith Gyratory) there were 96 cyclist casualties of whom 14 sustained serious injuries; 88 pedestrian casualties of whom 21 sustained severe injuries with two fatalities (bus and articulated lorry); 25 car drivers injured. 

He found the results “shocking.” What is also apparent from the statistics is that it isn’t bikes which pedestrians should be most afraid of. Anecdotal evidence that pedestrians are mowed down by cyclists on the pavement isn’t supported by the statistical evidence. Of the 95 pedestrians injured on Chiswick High Rd, only five were injured by cyclists. None of those collisions took place on the pavement. Of the 88 pedestrians injured in King St., four were injured by bikes. Again all cyclist-pedestrian injuries were on the road. 

His source material, police reports of casualties, can be found here.

“The photograph (above) is a powerful image which sums up to me why cyclists need more protection” says Dr Seaton. He cycles along the High Rd but his wife Tran finds it too dangerous, especially as a good friend of hers, a consultant radiologist, was off work for 18 months having been knocked off her bike on the road and has lasting health issues because of it.

“Cyclists lives don’t seem to matter”

The other thing which prompted him to look at the figures was the dismissive question on Twitter “How many sensible cyclists are injured on the High Rd?” 

There are two things wrong with this question. Its underlying premise is that accidents are usually the cyclist’s fault.  Where fault lies in an accident can never be taken for granted. It is specific to the circumstances of each individual case. The second, far more pernicious, is the inference that if a cyclist has made a mistake or taken a risk by not wearing a helmet or a high vis jacket, then their pain doesn’t matter. It can be dismissed.

“It feels like cyclists have become this group of people who aren’t really human” says Marijn van de Geer, who cycles a lot in Chiswick.”It’s like we’re a sub-species or something. It’s upsetting and it’s hard to understand … cyclists lives don’t seem to matter”.

Part of this can be put down to the culture of anonymous callousness evident on Twitter. Cyclists are not the only ones to have been dehumanised in the Twittersphere. But it is also a measure of how acrimonious the whole CS9 debate has become. “I find it immensely frustrating that such as sensible idea as a protected cycle lane has caused so much animosity” says Dr Seaton. 

Last week I said we had five pairs of tickets to give away to the Pub in the Park, a new event taking place in the gardens of Chiswick House 6-8 September. I asked you to answer this question to win a pair of tickets: In which year was Tom’s pub The Hand and Flowers first awarded two Michelin stars? I was quietly confident that the answer was 2011, since that’s what it says on Tom Kerridge’s own website, so was flummoxed to find the inbox flooded with answers saying 2012.

Pub in the Park have very sportingly given us five more pairs of tickets because 2012 is the year in which the award appeared in the Michelin guidebook, so not unreasonably that’s what it says on Wikkipedia, but 2011 is what it says on his website. Tickets are going out to all those who said 2011 AND the first five emails we received which said 2012.

Winners

Tickets go on sale 1 February for the weekend-long event which is part food festival and part music festival organised by Tom, who is famous for making his Marlow pub The Hand and Flowers the only pub in the UK with two Michelin stars. Readers of this blog will have the opportunity of priority booking. Sign up to the Pub in the Park newsletter here to receive the booking link on 31 January, one day before tickets go on general release.