Image above: Hounslow’s chapter of Friends of the Earth outside Hounslow House (Left to right – Mariette Labelle, Karolina Adamkiewicz & Maggie Thorburn)
Hounslow’s newly formed chapter of Friends of the Earth have petitioned LB Hounslow to scrap their policy of investing in shares owned by fossil fuel companies, nuclear weapons investors, and the arms manufacturing sector.
The environmentalist group presented the petition to Hounslow’s Pension Fund Panel on Wednesday (30 March). The petition requested LB Hounslow remove Shell, BP and all fossil fuel assets from their investment portfolio as soon as possible, replacing them with an ‘ethical pension fund’.
LB Hounslow invest in a ‘diverse range’ of shares to ensure sufficient funds are available to pay staff pensions. A small proportion of these are fossil fuel companies, fewer than 5% – but this represents some £40m of pension fund members money. Fossil fuel companies tend to have the best investment returns. Divestment, Friends of the Earth says, sends a bigger message to fossil fuel companies to change than continuing to invest in them.
In 2020, the pension panel agreed to incorporate a statement on climate change into its Investment Strategy Statement. As part of this, the Panel decided to switch to low carbon passive fund with asset management company BlackRock. Friends of the Earth criticised the decision, highlighting that the company still provides indirect investments in fossil fuels and arms companies.
The council’s position has been that it prefers to engage with these companies, in order to drive them to change and to transition their businesses to renewables. But Friends of the Earth say many years of engagement have led to very little action or any proof that it actually works. In 2019, 96% of BP’s annual spend was on oil and gas. Between 2010 and 2018, Shell dedicated just 1% of its long-term investments to sources of low-carbon energy like wind and solar.
Other London councils have committed to fully divest from fossil fuels: Islington, Lambeth, Southwark and Waltham Forest.
Image above: left to right – Mariette Labelle, Karolina Adamkiewicz & Maggie Thorburn inside Hounslow House
Investing in fossil fuel companies in 2022 “not acceptable”
Presenting the petition to the Pension Fund Panel, divestment campaigner Mariette Labelle said:
“The latest IPCC report stresses that Climate impacts are already happening everywhere, faster, and with worse consequences than ever predicted. In light of the UK’s current energy policy and the global geopolitical situation, it is time to let go of our dependency on fossil fuels.
“The Pension Fund “engages” with BP, and Shell through their AGMs. No matter how much “robust engagement ” the Pension Panel has with these companies and however much “good corporate governance principles or climate change strategy” they display, engagement is very unlikely to work as the core of their business is to extract and sell fossil fuels for financial gain.”
“If engagement is so robust, why is it that Shell’s directors are currently being sued by environmental lawyers for failure to properly prepare for net zero? Any changes that may occur due to voting on motions once a year at an AGM will be too slow to avoid further climate breakdown.”
She added:
“It is no longer appropriate, in 2022, to invest in this sector to get good returns and secure long-term investments. In reality, given the very real risk of stranded assets and in light of the panel’s fiduciary duty towards its members, and the long-term nature of the fund as reflected in its own strategy document, continuing to invest in fossil fuels is not acceptable.”
Image above: Hounslow’s investment advisor,
LB Hounslow will not be making any “dramatic changes”
Karen Shackleton, an independent investment advisor to the London Boroughs of Islington, Camden and Hounslow, responded by saying she would not be recommending any “dramatic” moves ahead of Hounslow’s annual pension evaluation. The Pension Fund Panel defer to her advice.
“I think what I’ll just say is that pension funds are all on a journey here, and I suspect some of this discussion is around the speed in which we make changes. That is a fine balance between working out what to do and when, and what the implications are of changes.
Karen went onto praise some of the “significant changes” Hounslow have implemented to reduce the carbon metrics on the pensions portfolio. She said that the upcoming pension strategy review would be a “good opportunity” for panel members to revisit some of the pension investments and could consider aligning the brief with decisions made during the Paris climate agreement.
She added:
“Ahead of the annual evaluation I wouldn’t be recommending any dramatic moves because we don’t know what’s going to come out of the updated evaluation. The strategy review will bring the pension fund into line with the latest liability profile following on from that.”
The Chiswick Calendar CIC is a community resource. Please support us by buying us the equivalent of a monthly cup of coffee (or more, if you insist). Click here to support us.
We publish a weekly newsletter and update the website with local news and information daily. We are editorially independent.
WHSmith stores, including the one in Chiswick, are partnering with Deliveroo in a trial which will allow customers to order products to their front door.
WHSmith will offer 600 products for delivery, including books, magazines, and snacks, which they say they can deliver in as little as 20 minutes. The high street chain will be providing similar services offered by supermarkets, pharmacies and takeaways.
The popularity of WH Smith’s website grew rapidly during the pandemic, with sales more than tripling over spring and summer 2020. The site already offers next day delivery to homes or for collection in stores.
Initially ten stores will benefit from the retailer’s deal with Deliveroo, starting with Reading on Tuesday (30 March) and followed next week by Cambridge, Brighton, Oxford, Leeds, St Albans and Guildford. In London participating branches are Richmond, Chiswick and Muswell Hill in London.
Partnership will increase selection of products for on-demand convenience
Sean Toal, managing director of WHSmith’s high street division said:
“We’re really excited to be partnering with Deliveroo for this trial which will complement our existing offer and enable our customers to receive the products that they want and need from us as fast as possible from their local store direct to their door; whether that’s a greetings card, working from home essentials, a last-minute gift or a newly released book.”
Carlo Mocci, chief business officer for UK & Ireland at Deliveroo, said:
“We are delighted to announce a new partnership with WHSmith in ten stores across the country.
“WHSmith is the UK’s leading stationery retailer and the top consumer choice for high-quality and popular products for the whole family.
“This partnership will further increase the choice and selection of on-demand convenience products for our consumers, delivered in as little as 20 minutes, and will create more work for riders across the UK.”
The Chiswick Calendar CIC is a community resource. Please support us by buying us the equivalent of a monthly cup of coffee (or more, if you insist). Click here to support us.
We publish a weekly newsletter and update the website with local news and information daily. We are editorially independent.
Image above: Supermarket shopping; photograph by Valentina
Chiswick MP Ruth Cadbury and LB Hounslow have both attacked the Government’s ‘failure to act’ on the cost of living crisis.
Ruth Cadbury, MP for Brentford and Isleworth, blasted Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s ‘failure to act’ on cost of living crisis hitting families when she gave her response to the Spring Statement in parliament.
Hounslow Council joined in the chorus of disapproval, claiming households across the borough are facing a bleak choice between heating and eating a few days before the April energy price cap rise.
April’s increase, which will see energy costs surge by 54%, will bring the energy price cap to just under £2,000 – increasing the average household bill by around £700 per year.
Ruth said the Chancellor should be doing more to protect families at this difficult time and called for a windfall tax on oil and gas companies to tackle the high cost of energy bills.
Poorest most affected by energy price hike
The poorest are the worst affected by the energy price hike not only because of their ability to pay, but because of the way in which they pay for gas and electricity. It is cheaper to pay for it by direct debit than it is by pre-payment meters.
The Council’s analysis reveals 11.7% of households in Hounslow have pre-payment electricity meters.
While thousands of households across Hounslow will feel the impact keenly, those reliant on pre-payment meters are expected to be hardest hit, facing a steeper average increase than those paying their energy bills via direct debit.
Fuel poverty in Hounslow is expected to soar in the next month, with 15.4% already in fuel poverty (using the Low Income Low Energy Efficiency definition. Under this definition, ‘households will be deemed fuel poor if their disposable income (after housing and energy costs) is below the poverty line and they live in a property with an energy efficiency rating of Band D or lower.’)
High cost of rent
Though energy prices are seen as the worst driver of the cost of living crisis, rent is another key item which is has increased hugely. Property website Zoopla estimates that people renting their homes are paying £62 a month more in the UK than before the pandemic.
Ruth Cadbury questioned the Chancellor in the House of Commons about the high costs of rents for many private sector tenants in West London, and the Government’s ‘failure’ to increase the amount of financial support provided for rent payments.
Speaking in full after the Chancellor’s Spring Statement she said:
‘‘I know from listening to families locally that the skyrocketing cost of energy bills and the rising cost of the food shop and weekly bills are all having a huge impact. The Government’s own figures show that we’re going to see the biggest hit to incomes on record, with charities warning that over 500,000 people will be pushed into poverty.
“All the Government have to offer is a tax hike – with national insurance rising this April, which will hit both workers and businesses locally with another tax hike. I’m extremely concerned that this budget will only deepen the existing inequalities in society and make it harder for families who are already struggling.
“We needed to see targeted support to the most vulnerable people – but we didn’t see that from the Chancellor.”
Energy price cap to rise again in October
Ofgem is expected to increase the price cap again in October.
Since the start of the year the Labour Party has been calling for a comprehensive £6.6billion package of relief measures to help support working families, which would include an immediate cut to VAT on energy bills and a windfall tax on North Sea Oil and Gas companies as well as an extension on the warm homes discount. This, they estimate, would save households between £200 to £600 per year.
Labour say the Government has offered households a “paltry” £200 loan to offset costs which will ultimately be repayable over the course of five years. They say the Chancellor’s mini-budget last week has done nothing to offset the cost-of-living crisis faced by millions of Londoners.
Hounslow’s Labour Council says it is maintaining one of the most generous Council Tax Reduction schemes in London, it is issuing Local Crisis Payments and providing grants to help families pay for school uniforms and providing free school meals to help Hounslow families tackle the cost of living crisis.
Hounslow residents “deeply concerned” about cost of living crisis
Cllr Shantanu Rajawat, Lead Member for Finance on Hounslow Council said:
“I hear from Hounslow residents all the time that they are deeply concerned about the cost of living crisis and they don’t know how they’re going to make ends meet.
“Rishi Sunak had a chance to make things right and he blew it. The Chancellor is as clueless when it comes to helping struggling Londoners as he is filling up a car. Only Labour has a comprehensive plan to help Londoners.
“With 11.7 per cent of households in Hounslow on pre-payment electricity meters and 15.4% already in fuel poverty I’m very worried. Meanwhile, parents are skipping meals to put food on their kids plates and people are forced to choose between heating and eating.
“In Hounslow we’re doing everything we can, from maintaining one of the most generous Council Tax Reduction schemes in London to issuing Local Crisis Payments, providing grants to help families pay for school uniforms and providing free school meals to help Hounslow families tackle the cost of living crisis. However, we also desperately need a comprehensive plan from government. Failing that, we need a new government.”
Nation is in crisis, says Mayor of London
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said:
“For months now, Londoners have been telling me agonising stories about the sacrifices they’ve been forced to make including deciding whether to cook a meal or whether to heat their home.
“The story is the same up and down the country and the Government’s response? A dodgy loan that no one asked for.
“Labour has a comprehensive strategy to bring costs down and ensure our ongoing energy security through investment in renewables.
“The nation is in crisis and this government has run out of ideas but on May 5 you have the chance to send Boris Johnson the message that enough is enough.”
The Chiswick Calendar CIC is a community resource. Please support us by buying us the equivalent of a monthly cup of coffee (or more, if you insist). Click here to support us.
We publish a weekly newsletter and update the website with local news and information daily. We are editorially independent.
https://chiswickcalendar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/people-shop-shopping-shops.jpg607910Matt Smithhttps://chiswickcalendar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/TCC-white-on-white-1.pngMatt Smith2022-03-30 14:04:442022-04-01 14:51:43Ruth Cadbury and Hounslow Council blast Government’s ‘failure to act’ on cost of living crisis
Ron’s Gone Wrong ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Review by Andrea Carnevali
The story of Barney, an awkward middle-schooler and Ron, his new walking, talking, digitally-connected device. Ron’s malfunctions set against the backdrop of the social media age launch them on a journey to learn about true friendship. Available to watch on Disney+
This animated film came in and out in the blink of an eye and nobody really noticed it. It’s now on having a second life on Disney+, like most things today.
The basic plot of the lonely boy who’s befriending a robot, who’s hunted by a big corporation is clearly nothing new: this is essentially E.T. for a new generation (though, they should probably have watched Spielberg’s masterpiece first!).
Set in a future world where technology rules and pretty much every child has a B-Bot, which are essentially walking smartphone-like oval-shaped robots which help kids across roads, make connections with “friends” without the burden of social interaction.
It’s obviously a cautionary tale, not just for our children but for most of us grown-ups too (says a man who spends pretty much 16 hours a day in front a screen) about what it means to live online.
It’s not by chance that the B-Bots of this film seem to be designed by Apple.
The film definitely has high moral standards and ideals, but ultimately it doesn’t have the edge, nor the inspired comedic timing of The Mitchells vs. the Machines (one of the most pleasant surprises in animation from last year), nor the poignant and emotional weight of Wall-E, or the heart of E.T.
Eventually the film chooses an easier and just colourful route. It ticks all the “entertainment” boxes, all rather predictable and eventually muddles up and dilutes the central message, abandoning the pretence of exploring the emotional fragility of children, preferring instead a route which is just fun and loud (My Goodness this film is NOISY!)
I don’t want to sound too down on this. It’s a perfectly good film and definitely above the average, but with so much potential, I really wanted it to be better.
Andrea Carnevali is a Bafta winning film maker who lives in Chiswick.
The Chiswick Calendar CIC is a community resource. Please support us by buying us the equivalent of a monthly cup of coffee (or more, if you insist). Click here to support us.
We publish a weekly newsletter and update the website with local news and information daily. We are editorially independent.
Post-Mortem on the Oscars 2022 – By Andrea Carnevali
The 2022 Oscars will be remembered more for Will Smith hitting Chris Rock over a comment the comic made about the actor’s wife than for any of the films, but here Andrea concentrates on the films.
With all the talk surrounding the slap by Will Smith at the Oscars, we all neglected to look at the films that were actually nominated and those which eventually won. Very few people are talking about CODA, let alone Drive My Car.
That rather shocking act of violence, however inappropriate the joke by Chris Rock was, tainted the whole ceremony and actually pretty much Hollywood as a whole.
To be honest I found even more shameful the standing ovation that followed the slap, once Will Smith won the Oscar (An award which was just as deserved as it would have been if Benedict Cumberbatch or Andrew Garfield had won), and I also found the lack of any prompt response by the Academy and the organisers behind the show very sloppy.
Image above: Will Smith
There were other things throughout the show which annoyed me: the constant references to being Black or being a woman, in a “We are so over of racism and power-centric men in Hollywood” kind of way, felt forced and contrived.
Most of the “jokes” (I use the term loosely) made by the various presenters felt like there were written in a few minutes by some cheap comedian.
Then there was that crowbarred minute of silence for the people of Ukraine, which was swiftly followed by an advert for a ‘cryptocurrency’ site and a whole series of other commercials after that. A juxtaposition that told us succinctly more about priorities and society today than any of the nominated documentaries.
Not to mention the terrible terrible, terrible (yes, triple terrible) stunt where the (female) host called to the stage the “hot looking” actors of the moment and started “feeling” them, touching their bodies and making jokes about taking them to a private room back-stage. It was a moment that was going to be soon eclipsed by the “slap”, but it was a clear example of the double-standards that are still alive and well. Can you even imagine if the gender roles had been reversed? What a horrendous sight that was! Or is it me, just getting old and not keeping up with the times?
Yes, all in all “the slap” was a wake-up call in an otherwise rather boring and predictable evening but I would have definitely have done without it.
Incidentally, seven hours earlier I had written my predictions on my Facebook page and as it turned out I got them all right.
Image above: CODA
This year CODA was the big winner, scooping not just the Best motion picture award, but also Best Supporting actor (a unique and magnificent performance by Troy Kotsur) and Best Adapted Screenplay.
I’m really pleased by the success of this film. Back in December last year I was one of those who vouched for it, when hardly anyone had heard about it: a crowd-pleaser which might not be the most original story, but it’s certainly the most heart-warming. And if you didn’t feel anything for it, you should probably have your pulse checked at some point.
As a Spielberg lover I was (not-so-secretly) hoping for a surprise win from West Side Story, but however loved by critics, the film didn’t really hit with the public, nor the members of the Academy, it seems.
I still believe it was one of the most beautifully directed films. To steal a quote I read somewhere, “Spielberg is so old-school that he IS the school”. Hardly any director alive today knows how to place and move the camera to tell a story, making it look so organically seamless and effortless.
Image above: Power of the Dog
But it was time for a woman to finally get some recognition and so Jane Campion won. In complete honesty I don’t think her Power of the Dog was her best work, nor did I love the film like many of my peers have. I thought it was oddly paced, too long and too understated for my taste: it left me cold and detached… But hey, what do I know? She won. So suck it up Andrea!
However Ariana DeBose, from West Side Story did win and made history by being the first (openly) queer woman of colour to get an Oscar. And a very well deserved one too: Ariana lit up the screen every time she appeared in the film, whether singing, or dancing, smiling or crying, or simply just by being in there, with her sheer sparkling presence. I look forward to seeing what she does next (apparently a Marvel film, a Sci-fi and star-studded spy flick by Matthew Vaughn).
Jessica Chastain was clearly the right choice for the win for her role in The Eyes of Tammy Faye. She faced a tough competition and all of her nominees were just as worth the golden statuette.
Image above:The Eyes of Tammy Faye
Of course Oscars voters love transformations and performances with lots of make-up, but in this instance Jessica rose above the simple cliché and pulled off one a real stunt! Her performance in the film was truly amazing, right from the first frames, with the camera tight on her eyes, revealing a sweet and poignant vulnerability, half hidden by a forced smile and tons of make-up. I thought she was astonishing.
So was Andrew Garfield in that film, but in the end he ended up being nominated for his role in Tick, tick… Boom!, the directorial effort of Manuel Lin Miranda, the other man of the moment in Hollywood.
This was really Garfield’s year, especially after the colossal success of Spiderman No Way Home. An Oscar would have been the cherry on the top of an already very sweet cake. I would have loved to see him winning, but after all he’s young and hopefully he’ll have many more stabs at it, if not more. And so will Benedict Cumberbatch, who earlier in the race seemed to have the upper hand.
Image above: King Richard
We all know how it all ended instead. I had predicted Will Smith’s road to the Oscars back in October in my first review for King Richard. His outrageous outburst doesn’t cancel the fact that his performance was actually rather good and he was also owed one for the film Ali from about 20 years ago.
The other wins worth mentioning are the six Oscars for Dune, the film with most awards: visual effects, score, cinematography, production design, editing and sound. If those don’t make it a best motion picture film, then I don’t know what does. Bizarrely his director wasn’t nominated… as if that kind of film made itself.
The Original Screenplay Oscar went to Kenneth Branagh, who has been nominated seven times since his Henry V in 1990 and Encanto was obviously awarded for Best animated feature. I say “obviously”, because it was definitely the easiest choice, and while I certainly appreciated the Disney musical extravaganza, my favourite would have been Flee, which I thought was not just the best animated film of the years, nor the best documentary of the year (it was also nominated for that category and lost to Summer or Soul), but possibly one of the best of the year, full stop!
But as we’ve learnt only too well from the past, the Oscars don’t always award the “best”.
Do we need to mention Brokeback Mountain losing to Crash? Saving Private Ryan losing to Shakespeare in Love? Citizen Kane to How Green Was My Valley?
Francis Ford Coppola the year he directed The Godfather lost to Bob Fosse (Cabaret).
Art Carney in Harry and Tonto (sorry, what?) won best actor over Al Pacino in The Godfather Part II and Jack Nicholson in Chinatown.
And the list goes on: Ian McKellen, Harrison Ford, Peter O’Toole, Glenn Close, Greta Garbo, Judy Garland – none of them ever won an Oscar.
Nor did directors like Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick or Spike Lee (in fact Kubrick did win one, for the special effects in 2001… almost an insult).
And so this year, one of my favourite, C’mon C’mon didn’t even make the cut among the nominees. Ben Affleck’s The Tender Bar was overlooked, and so was Simon Rex for Red Rocket. And Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch, a film which I honestly hated, but which looked astonishing, wasn’t even considered for Cinematography or Production design. Quite shameful really.
Anyway, no point in crying over it. There’s a whole new season of films coming up with lots of potential new Oscar nominees for 2023:
Babylon by Damien Chazelle,
Killers of the Flower Moon, by Martin Scorsese,
The Fabelmans, the semi-autobiographical latest film by Steven Spielberg,
White Noise by Noah Baumbach (who had directed one of my favourite from last year Marriage Story), and Canterbury Glass by an Oscar darling David O Russel with an amazing cast: Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, Zoe Saldaña, Andrea Risborough, Taylor Swift, Michael Shannon, Mike Myers… and guess who?… Chris Rock!
It’s never going to happen, but wouldn’t it be fun to see him up on that stage again… as a nominee.
Andrea Carnevali is a Bafta winning film maker who lives in Chiswick.
The Chiswick Calendar CIC is a community resource. Please support us by buying us the equivalent of a monthly cup of coffee (or more, if you insist). Click here to support us.
We publish a weekly newsletter and update the website with local news and information daily. We are editorially independent.
This Sunday sees the return of the Oxford & Cambridge Boat Race to the Tidal Thames, after Covid forced it to be cancelled in 2020 and switched to Ely in Cambridgeshire last year. The Boat Race finishes at Chiswick Bridge.
The Gemini Boat Race times on Sunday 3 April are:
2.23pm: The 76th Women’s Race
3.23pm: The 167th Men’s Race
Gloriana at the boat race
The Royal Row barge Gloriana will be heading the flotilla this year. She will be moored at Chiswick Pier from Thursday. You can not go on board but you can admire her at fairly close quarters from the river bank.
‘The Festival of Rowing 2022’ will precede the Boat Race, with fix seat boats of many sizes and types and some crews in traditional dress covering the course in both directions.
Gloriana was built in 2012 for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, so it is fitting she leads the 20 boat flotilla in the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee year.
Image above: The Royal barge Gloriana
Where to watch the boat race?
Chiswick Pier is a great place to watch the Boat Race. They will have food and drink available from Salt Beef Shack, Italian purveyors Soffrito and icecreams from Super Scoop gelato, Fuller’s bar and hot drinks available.
Live music and of course a large TV screen so you can watch the crews power upstream from Chiswick Eyot, past the Pier and through to the final bend before Barnes Railway Bridge. Then dash inside in time to catch the finish on TV.
Hammersmith Bridge closed
Hammersmith Bridge will be closed during the Boat Race due to safety concerns. Following an inspection by safety experts, Hammersmith and Fulham council have been instructed to close the bridge to pedestrians, cyclists, and e-scooters between 10.00am and 5.00pm on the day.
The Board for the Case for the Continued Safe Operation of Hammersmith Bridge has informed the council the bridge is still not safe for large crowds of onlookers. Notices confirming the closures will be put in place on both the north and south sides of the bridge and safety marshals will be on duty.
The Chiswick Calendar CIC is a community resource. Please support us by buying us the equivalent of a monthly cup of coffee (or more, if you insist). Click here to support us.
We publish a weekly newsletter and update the website with local news and information daily. We are editorially independent.
The Bad Guys ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2 Review by Andrea Carnevali
Several reformed yet misunderstood criminal animals attempt to become good, with some disastrous results along the way. Out in the cinema this weekend.
Not every animated film needs to be a life affirming experience, nor does it necessarily need to have any deep, profound or meaningful metaphor underneath. And of course it doesn’t have to break any ground with new technical achievement. In other words, not every animated film can be made by Pixar or Miyazaki.
Sometimes it’s OK to have something that is just mindless fun, pure entertainment and… with lots of fart gags!
Based on children’s book series by Australian author Aaron Blabey and riffing on the heist-movie genre, The Bad Guys follows a band of bank robbers, Mr. Wolf, Mr. Piranha, Mr. Snake, Mr. Shark, and Ms. Tarantula, all of whom look like they could be straight out of one of the Oceans films.
After a heist gone wrong, they’re sent to prison. In an effort to avoid doing time behind bars, they’re forced to turn good … or at least pretend to, until the next con.
French animator director Pierre Perifel, channels a ‘70s vibe both in the soundtrack and the visuals, arcing back to the old Hanna-Barbera cartoons and taking inspiration from those classic car chases from films like Bullit or Gone in 60 seconds and even The Blues Brothers.
It is an incredibly fast-paced film, with never a dull moment. Occasionally it risks drifting into complete chaos (the final chase, for example, is a bit over-the-top), but it’s beautifully constructed, never confusing and often even surprisingly clever.
The film might not offer that emotional layer we’ve grown to appreciate in the post Pixar-era and in some of the most recent animated films, but what it lacks in depth and subtlety, is certainly compensated for by the kinetic frenzy and the exuberant sense of fun.
It’ll also keep you guessing thorough a series of (mostly) unexpected twists and turns right to the end credits (In fact, make sure you stick around for the epilogue).
All of that is then topped up by a great voice cast, with names like Marc Maron, Anthony Ramos, Craig Robinson, Awkwafina, Richard Ayoade and led by lead by Sam Rockwell as Mr. Wolf, who oozes coolness and swagger to shame even George Clooney’s Oceans character. They may be voicing “bad guys”, but there’s certainly not a bad performance among them.
I went in, taking my son and his friends, expecting the worst, and we all left the packed Chiswick Cinema with big smiles on our faces.
A pleasant surprise!
Andrea Carnevali is a Bafta winning film maker who lives in Chiswick.
The Chiswick Calendar CIC is a community resource. Please support us by buying us the equivalent of a monthly cup of coffee (or more, if you insist). Click here to support us.
We publish a weekly newsletter and update the website with local news and information daily. We are editorially independent.
https://chiswickcalendar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/The-Bad-Guys-1.jpg290600Andrea Carnevalihttps://chiswickcalendar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/TCC-white-on-white-1.pngAndrea Carnevali2022-03-29 11:05:272022-04-04 11:15:40Andrea’s film review – The Bad Guys
Man in the Middle is the fictional diary of a Boomer coping with the demands of an ageing mother with dementia, his millennial children and his own impending obsolescence. Bowed down by Brexit, Covid and self-pity, all he wants is more ‘me time’. Will he succeed? Or is he destined to be stuck forever in No Man’s Land in the war between the generations?
If you’d like to begin at the beginning, you can read No. 1: The Letter here
No 85: We were students here 40 years ago
In the middle of the aisle is a young man, tall as a pine tree, swaying in tune with the train as it leaves Kings Cross. His left palm is flat against the carriage ceiling, propping him up like a flying buttress, while his right hand steadies half a bottle of vodka against his lips.
He begins to suck the vodka out of the bottle like a hungry calf. His cheeks sink and swell like an accordion. He leans back until the bottle is almost vertical over his head. At this point, his posse of young male friends start to make a low mooing noise as the vodka disappears down his throat.
‘Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahoo,’ they moo.
As their chant reaches its climax, so does he, pulling the empty bottle from his lips and spraying the last few drops of vodka and his spittle over the old couple sitting beside him. His pals stand, applaud and cheer. He bows to them, his trousers sagging away from his buttocks and exposing his designer underpants. He turns and bows to the rest of the carriage.
‘All gone,’ he says out loud with a wide triumphant grin and thin, high voice.
The old couple stare ahead pretending they have heard nothing, felt nothing. It’s 10.30am on a Friday morning. Oh God, I think. I’m booked on a train next to a stag do. How will I survive another two hours of this babel of boyish banter before I get out at York?
‘Why did he say: all gone?’ I ask quietly. The loathsome pine has sat down now but he’s only three rows away and might easily misunderstand my interest in him if he overhears me.
‘It’s what a conjuror would say at the end of a trick,’ says Friend Number 1.
‘Or a four-year old when they’ve eaten all their greens,’ says Friend Number 2.
‘Oh, come on. They mean well. We were as bad when we were his age,’ says Friend Number 3.
‘Nonsense,’ I say. ‘We couldn’t afford vodka and our trousers never came off accidentally.’
There are five of us on the train on a reunion weekend away to York university, where we first met nearly forty years ago. We’re privately a little surprised to be here, I suspect. Probably a little nervous too that it could all go wrong. I’ve never been to a school or university reunion, but I imagine that it wouldn’t take much for things to get tricky. A clash of political ideology or an unwise joke could easily upset the apple cart.
‘The worst that could happen,’ says my daughter. ‘Is that you realise you have nothing in common with each other any longer. Which in a way is a positive. Sometimes, it’s a good idea to let go of the past.’
‘I’ve got so little future to look forward to that I want to hold onto as much of my past as I can,’ I say.
‘If you remember any of your old student jokes, please bring them back. It’d be interesting to see if your humour’s evolved at all over the last forty years,’ says my son.
‘It hasn’t,’ says my wife. ‘Two of your father’s original jokes are on permanent loan at the Jorvik Centre in an exhibition called ‘The Viking’s and Vulgarity’,’ says my wife.
‘Right,’ I say. ‘I’m off to spend the weekend with people who respect and care for me.’
After Palmers Green, the conversation loosens up and we start to swap stories. The stag party are numb with alcohol and plug into their i Pods. The good times begin to rock and roll.
Friend Number 2 explains how he is due a hip replacement operation in a few weeks but is still looking forward to walking the Roman Walls and that we shouldn’t let his hips hold us back.
Friend Number 1 says she may be developing an arthritic shoulder because of the year after university which she spent as a geriatric nurse and Labour councillor in Croydon lifting old folks on and off the toilet. But we’re not to worry as she is still able to use a knife and fork and so she won’t embarrass us at the posh riverside restaurant we’re going to on Saturday night by asking us to feed her.
Friend Number 2 says that Number 1’s story reminds him that as part of his pre-op hip replacement physiotherapy he is being taught how to sit on a raised toilet and to pull his socks and trousers with ‘a pair of long tweezers.’
To keep the chat upbeat, I bring everyone up to speed with my mother’s dementia, which reminds them of their own parents’ trials and tribulations with cancer, dementia, delusions and death. By the time we’ve rattled through all the medical conditions we are (or might soon be) suffering from including high blood pressure, poor cholesterol and early onset diabetes, we’re nearly at Doncaster.
As we pull into the station, I decide to share with them the short version of the time I had a colonoscopy and the strange sensation of seeing your own innards on a TV screen, while you lie on a couch with a backless surgical gown.
‘What did they find?’ asks Friend Number 4.
‘Haemorrhoids,’ I say proudly.
As if he were trying to trump me in a game of cards Whist, Friend Number 2 leans forwards and points at a small purple bubble on his lower lip and says: ‘Benign tumour.’
When we arrive at York, the sun is shining. There are daffodils all over the hill leading up to the ramparts. I’m overwhelmed with a sense of wellbeing. Our clinical chat has put us well on the way to getting properly reacquainted. We decide to get a cab and have lunch in the pub opposite the house which we used to share.
Friend Number 5 turns to the cab driver and says, as if he were sharing a momentous piece of news: ‘We were students here forty years ago.’
‘Sure you were,’ says the driver with true Yorkshire phlegm.‘But where do you want to go? This isn’t the Tardis and I can’t drive you to the past.’
The Chiswick Calendar CIC is a community resource. Please support us by buying us the equivalent of a monthly cup of coffee (or more, if you insist). Click here to support us.
We publish a weekly newsletter and update the website with local news and information daily. We are editorially independent.
https://chiswickcalendar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/TCC-white-on-white-1.png00James Thellussonhttps://chiswickcalendar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/TCC-white-on-white-1.pngJames Thellusson2022-03-29 07:06:342022-04-18 15:56:51Man in the Middle 85: We were students here 40 years ago
The Hogarth youth centre in Chiswick has found a way to raise regular funds to support its youth programme, which provides after school activities for children and young people.
When you buy goods from Amazon you are able to select a charity: “Shop at smile.amazon.co.uk and we’ll donate to your favourite charitable organisation, at no cost to you.”
If you nominate the Hogarth Charitable Trust Company Limited, smile.amazon.co.uk will then donate 0.5% of the price of your eligible purchases to the Hogarth Centre.
Chiswick has pockets of poverty and children who do not have the opportunities of many of the better off families around them, for which the centre is a lifeline.
The Hogarth Centre used to be fully funded by LB Hounslow but have been forced to rely on fundraising for the past couple of years. So far this year they have managed to secure two grants from LB Hounslow and have received a cheque for £3,250 from Knights Brown, who are constructing the Barnes Bridge walkway.
They have received material donations from Goldman Sachs Gives, the Ledger Moulsdale Charitable Trust, the Good Luck Charitable Trust and the Batchworth Trust. The charity is also growing its network of ‘Friends’ who make regular donations. Launched mid-2019 the Friends initiative now has 250 people signed up to give regular financial support.
“We thank every individual, charity and LBH for their support which really makes a difference as we continue to recover from the financial consequences of Covid” said Chair of the Trust Fred Lucas.
“As you can tell, our success depends on the support from many kind spirited people and organisations in our local community. By working together, good things can happen.”
The Centre is pleased to say it has delivered almost 50 days of uninterrupted service to a growing number of participants in its Youth Programme so far this year.
“A very busy February four day Half Term programme was enjoyed by more than 75 young people. Compared to 2019, our last “normal” year pre-Covid, the first three months of 2022 has seen an encouraging increase of over 10%. In March members of the youth team are starting a more proactive outreach into some local deprived areas. We hope this will attract more youngsters to the Centre, especially as the days get longer and lighter.”
Wine tasting, raffle and auction – top offer dinner for four at La Trompette
They are now fundraising for the Summer Programme, which runs from 25 July to 18 August. They need £10,000 to run it and among the fun opportunities for raising money they are putting on a wine tasting with a raffle and an auction.
The wine tasting on Tuesday 14 June affords to opportunity to try eight wines chosen by wine expert Tim Syrad (timsyradwines.com). Raffle prizes include fine wines, collectables, haircut vouchers and two day passes for the Hogarth Health Club.
Independently of the wine tasting you can bid at auction for a sumptuous VIP dinner for four people, generously donated by top Chiswick restaurant, La Trompette. Submit a single, sealed bid here and hope for the best.
Image above: Hogarth Centre
Looking for a venue for a birthday party?
What the Hogarth Centre has on its side is fantastic premises with well appointed facilities for all manner of recreational activities. It has a hall with a stage and gym facilities. Centre manager Dani Karas licenses space to small community orientated businesses.
More than 30 licensees have used the Centre in the first quarter of 2022 including Bulgarian Dance, the Rock Choir and Move into Wellbeing movement classes for people restricted movement. The centre still has some large hall spaces available for ad hoc events and is a good choice if you are looking for a venue for a birthday party.
“As Covid constraints diminish for many, the Charity’s operations are building back well. The Centre is abuzz with young people, community groups and licensees” says Fred Lucas.
The Chiswick Calendar CIC is a community resource. Please support us by buying us the equivalent of a monthly cup of coffee (or more, if you insist). Click here to support us.
We publish a weekly newsletter and update the website with local news and information daily. We are editorially independent.
https://chiswickcalendar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Hogarth-Youth-Community-Centre-3.jpg6641000Bridget Osbornehttps://chiswickcalendar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/TCC-white-on-white-1.pngBridget Osborne2022-03-29 00:47:222022-03-29 00:51:00Salve your conscience for shopping online with a donation to the Hogarth Centre
Image above: plans for Fulham FC development, including the pier
Ranelagh sailing club launches petition against the pier
Rowers and sailors who use the River Thames for recreation are united “as never before” in opposition to plans by Fulham FC to build a new pier out into the river as part of the redevelopment of Craven Cottage.
Ranelagh sailing club has launched a petition against the pier. Commodore James Hayward told The Chiswick Calendar the clubs upstream from Putney Bridge are just now waking up to the plans, which are in the pre-consultation period before the club applies for planning permission, but they are all against it, as it would be “an unmitigated disaster” for anyone using the river for sport or leisure.
The problem is the introduction of ferries, which currently only operate upstream as far as Putney Bridge. Having ferries operating west of Putney Bridge would make it too dangerous for rowing and sailing boats to use the same stretch of water, James told us. The football club plans to bring football fans to the stadium by ferry to the new Riverside stand.
Image above: Sailing boats from Ranelagh sailing club out on the River Thames
“It’s either rowing and sailing boats, or it’s ferries”
Putney Reach is home to the Ranelagh sailing club and many rowing clubs which between them have centuries of water sports history and tradition. The line of the proposed pier is just about where the starting point is for varsity races on the Tidal Thames.
“There were about four thousand people out rowing on the river this weekend” James told us. Hundreds of people are involved in the Head of the the River races and thousands will turn out for the Oxford and Cambridge University boat race this Sunday (3 April).
“It’s either rowing and sailing boats or it’s ferries but you can’t have both in the same stretch of water” said James, “it’s too dangerous”. A rowing boat was broken in two on the River Thames in 2009, leaving rowers swimming for their lives when the 220-seat Hurricane Clipper ferry sliced through it near the London Eye.
“Small craft can’t cope with the wake of ferries” James told us.
Image above: Fulham FC’s riverside development
“The football stadium has to match this ambition and deliver a truly memorable experience”
The football club is building a new 8,650 capacity Riverside stand which is expected to be open early next season. Craven Cottage will be able to seat a total of 29,600 fans once the new stand is finished but the club has far greater ambitions than just being able to host more fans on match days.
The new stand is part of a Riverside development will feature restaurants, a hotel and spa, apartments, and rooftop terraces. The pier, to be built about 80 metres out into the middle of the river, would enable visitors to visit the area by boat.
Part of the project is to create a public walking route along the river between Hammersmith and Putney Bridges, allowing better access to and from the stadium on match days. The planning report from 2017 stated:
“FFC wants to remain at Craven Cottage, its home since 1896. The club is ambitious, wanting to re-establish itself within the Premier League.
“The football stadium has to match this ambition and deliver a truly memorable experience. The existing Riverside Stand is unattractive, detracting from the riverside and conservation area: it turns its back on the Thames. The new stand celebrates the location and creates a positive landmark on the Thames involving high-quality architecture.”
Image above: “Welcome to Ranelagh” picture from the sailing club’s website
Taking up the fight
The development has been delayed by Covid and certain elements of the scheme have been altered, with Fulham now planning a private members’ club on the top of the stand.
James Hayward met representatives of the football club earlier this year with Putney MP Fleur Anderson.
“They told us this [the pier] is going ahead” said James, but the club will have to get licences from the Port of London Authority, the Maritime Agency and the Environmental Agency as well as planning permission from LB Hammersmith & Fulham.
The football club carried out a consultation on the pier amongst its fans last August.
“We’re building a new heart to the community” boasts the Fulham Pier website. “Positioned along the Thames and nestled by parkland, we’re bringing to life this pocket of South West London by creating a unique destination that’ll be open morning, noon and night.”
The developer say Fulham Pier will offer “an exciting new destination to this area of the Thames.”
Image above: CGI of Fulham FC’s new riverside development
“Risks of collision, serious injury and death will escalate”
The organisers of the petition consider that a threat rather than a promise:
“Fulham Football Club wants to build a pier that will extend about 80 metres into the middle of river. It will create a significant navigational obstruction at a location that is already a natural bottleneck especially at low tide.
“This is one of the most busy stretches of water for boating activities in the UK given the rowing, sailing and sea cadets/scouts clubs nearby. It is an important sporting and recreational venue for schools, youngsters and adults who wish to learn something new, and for local, national and international racing.
“The pier will pose a dangerous hazard as boats converge to avoid it in constricted, tidal waters. Risks of collision, serious injury and death will escalate.”
The petition against it, set up two days ago, has already attracted 147 signatures. The Ranelagh club has had flyers and banners printed ready to attract the attention of the Boat Race crowds this weekend.
“Fulham FC has negotiated a contract with Uber clippers to extend the ferry west of Putney Bridge. If they are allowed to do this, what is to stop them introducing ferries all the way up to Richmond and destroying water sports on the Thames?”
The Chiswick Calendar CIC is a community resource. Please support us by buying us the equivalent of a monthly cup of coffee (or more, if you insist). Click here to support us.
We publish a weekly newsletter and update the website with local news and information daily. We are editorially independent.
https://chiswickcalendar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Pier_crop-2.png361403Bridget Osbornehttps://chiswickcalendar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/TCC-white-on-white-1.pngBridget Osborne2022-03-28 22:51:492022-03-30 23:38:05Thames rowers and sailors unite in opposition to Fulham Pier
Image above: Tents outside Christ Church, Turnham Green
Over the past few weeks a small encampment of tents has grown up against the wall of Christ Church on Turnham Green. The occupiers, rough sleepers, have so far turned down approaches by LB Hounslow’s Outreach team and charities to persuade them to move elsewhere and have indicated they have every intention of staying put.
The Church is not happy with the situation. Although Turnham Green is public land, the bit immediately around the church belongs to Christ Church. They have tried to persuade the rough sleepers to go elsewhere, not least because they say they use the drains as their toilet. But so far conversations with the Council’s support team for homeless people and the charity St Mungo’s have not helped and the Church say the police have told them they cannot move the rough sleepers on either.
“There are a growing number of tents occupied by a number of homeless people on Christ Church W4 land on Turnham Green, which is causing increasing concern to the community” the Church told The Chiswick Calendar.
“The situation poses some hygiene problems and potential safeguarding risks”
The Church’s statement continues:
“Christ Church W4 are also particularly concerned about the welfare of the occupants and wish to ensure their safety. The situation poses some hygiene problems and potential safeguarding risks to the many children’s and youth activities that happen in the church throughout the week. In addition, the Church needs to access the area for scheduled safety maintenance work on the walls.
“Over the past six weeks, many efforts have been made to resolve the situation, as well as Christ Church W4’s own commitment to supporting those struggling with homelessness through the Shelter programme. Christ Church W4 have liaised with and sought the advice of colleagues in the Diocese of London, Hounslow Council, the police and a number of homeless charities.
“These efforts have included working closely with charities, who have offered to help find these individuals a safe place to call home. Unfortunately, these offers have not been taken up as of yet. It is nonetheless hoped that this dialogue leads to a more positive and constructive solution, one that provides a safe, permanent and suitable place for them to be.
“While this dialogue carries on and Christ Church W4 continues to liaise with the partners identified above, it is hoped that the Church does not need to go down a legal route. Christ Church W4 wishes to reassure the public that they are working hard to resolve this situation in a sensitive manner and wish to express their thanks go to the Council and charities that are supporting the Church in this matter.”
Image above: Tents outside Christ Church, Turnham Green
Cllr Hanif Khan says attempts by the Council to resolve the situation are ongoing
Cllr Hanif Khan, Cabinet Member of Hounslow Council, has raised the issue with Council’s Safer Communities operations team, which includes both the Outreach team who meet homeless people on the street to find them accommodation, and police in the borough. He has also raised it with fellow Cabinet Member Cllr Katherine Dunne, the lead councillor responsible for housing homeless people.
Cllr Khan confirmed to The Chiswick Calendar that St Mungo’s have been in touch with the council’s Safer Communities team and that the three agencies are continuing to work together to resolve the situation. He has also been in touch with Christ Church to offer his help in liaising with council officials and the police.
Cllr Khan is standing as a candidate for Labour in Chiswick Gunnersbury ward, which includes Turnham Green, in the May elections.
Huge increase in homelessness expected
The Chiswick Calendar has not been able to speak to the rough sleepers.
The charity Crisis estimates there are some 227,000 people rough sleeping, sleeping in vans and sheds, and stuck in B&Bs – across England, Scotland and Wales.
The Government made a public pledge in December 2019 to end homelessness and rough sleeping by 2024. The government committed £260 million for local authorities to support people who are homeless or at risk of losing their homes. But the impact of the pandemic and the current cost of living crisis means that in reality the number of people experiencing homelessness could increase by a third by 2024.
The Bank of England has warned household disposable incomes are likely to shrink by 2% this year, the biggest fall since records began in 1990. Property website Zoopla estimates that people renting their homes are paying £62 a month more in the UK than before the pandemic. The Resolution Foundation has warned that the poorest households in the UK could see their cost of living jump by as high as 10% by autumn.
Authors of the 2022 Homelessness monitor, Heriot-Watt University warn we must expect a huge increase in homelessness.
‘We are now facing a cost of living crisis that will see people all over the country paying hundreds of pounds more for their energy and day-to-day essentials. The evidence from both policy specialists and people on the frontline is telling us that if nothing changes, levels of homelessness will increase significantly.
‘Heriot Watt University’s projections in this report show that under the status quo, levels of ‘core’ homelessness will have gone up by one third between 2019 and 2024.’
The Chiswick Calendar CIC is a community resource. Please support us by buying us the equivalent of a monthly cup of coffee (or more, if you insist). Click here to support us.
We publish a weekly newsletter and update the website with local news and information daily. We are editorially independent.
https://chiswickcalendar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Christ-Church-tents-2_crop_web.jpg679971Bridget Osbornehttps://chiswickcalendar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/TCC-white-on-white-1.pngBridget Osborne2022-03-28 22:47:312022-03-31 10:51:11Christ Church Chiswick want homeless people camped on their land moved on
Image above: Hounslow Highways and tree surgeons remove the felled tree on Chiswick High Road
The felling of a “half dead” tree on Chiswick High Road has sparked outrage among residents critical of Cycleway 9, who believed the tree’s close proximity to the cycle lane was a factor in its demise.
Work began on removing the tree, which was opposite Merton Avenue on Chiswick High Road, on Friday at around 7.00am (25 March). Hounslow Highways and tree surgeon company, The Tree Associates, carried out the felling after determining 50% of the tree was dead and removal was the best option.
Image above: The unhappy tree showing barely any leaves in 2020. Google street view.
Hounslow Highways have said another tree will be planted in the same location and stressed the felling was “not related” to works on the cycle lane in any way.
Trees have been cut down to allow for safe journeys along Cycleway 9 in the past, including a 100 year old tree which was felled in December 2021.
Hounslow Highways felt sufficiently motivated to defend the works on Twitter, after a wave of outrage from members of the anti-cycle lane group OneChiswick.
OneChiswick is a local activist group who are opposed to all vehicular traffic restrictions in Chiswick, including Cycleway 9. OneChiswick Ltd raised thousands of pounds to take LB Hounslow to Judicial Review over C9 but the legal case did not go ahead and the company formed for the purpose has now been wound up.
A tree was felled in Chiswick High Rd outside Prebend Mansions as 50% of it was dead and removal was determined to be the best option. The felling was not related to the works on Cycleway 9. We will be replacing the tree in the same location. @LBofHounslow
OneChiswick members vented on social media shortly after the tree was cut down. One alleged the tree was being cut down to make way for Cycleway 9 and had to be felled early in the morning “presumably to avoid scrutiny”. They went on to claim LB Hounslow was continuing to “damage” Chiswick High Road.
Others were more drastic in their response to the tree being felled. Clive Sinkle said:
“If people see this happen or about to happen please please stand in front of the tree it will be worth it and while you’re standing there, post up here so we can come down straight away.”
One member posted the address and contact details of the The Tree Associates, encouraging others to message the company so as to make Chiswick’s trees “too hot to handle”.
Another member, Sue-ann Ekundayo, recommended someone “do something disgusting” next to the lorry where the tree was being removed “with a Dog or not? and run away?”.
These comments were made before Hounslow Highways issued their explanation on Monday (28 March) on Twitter.
The Chiswick Calendar CIC is a community resource. Please support us by buying us the equivalent of a monthly cup of coffee (or more, if you insist). Click here to support us.
We publish a weekly newsletter and update the website with local news and information daily. We are editorially independent.
Cricket authors (and obsessives) Peter Oborne and Richard Heller launched a podcast early in 2020 to help deprived listeners endure a world without cricket. They’re no longer deprived of cricket, but still chat regularly about cricket topics with different guests each week – cricket writers, players, administrators and fans – hoping to keep a good line and length but with occasional wides into other subjects.
Jonathan Collett is a devotee of Warwickshire, whom he represented at under-19 level. He was Press Secretary for Michael Howard, then Conservative party leader and later Public Relations advisor for Pakistan’s successful cricket tour of England in 2016. He shares fierce but trenchant views on what’s gone wrong with cricket in Warwickshire, England and the world – and who’s to blame – as the guest of Peter Oborne and Richard Heller in their latest cricket-themed podcast.
They begin by extolling the recently completed Test series between Pakistan and Australia, played in an excellent spirit and with great passages of play from both sides. Australia’s willingness to play a Test series in Pakistan contrasted with England’s miserable cancellation last year of its much briefer T20 tour. The Lahore Test ended in deserved triumph for Pat Cummins as captain and bowler. After 92 Tests for Pakistan it was the first played by Azhar Ali in his home city: from personal knowledge Jonathan salutes his qualities as an ambassador for Pakistan.
They also welcome Bangladesh’s first one-day series win in South Africa, proof of its growing importance in international cricket, based on a major performance by the hitherto unsung fast bowler Taksin Ahmed.
They suggest that the initial Tests between Pakistan and Australia and West Indies and England were reminiscent of traditional Test match cricket, especially in the scoring tempo and the long innings needed to save two of them. But Jonathan notes that over-rates have fallen in Test matches with little intervention from controlling bodies, who, he suggests, give much higher priority to selling TV commercials than providing a better ration of cricket for paying spectators.
Jonathan takes aim at the profusion of short forms of cricket: no other sport besides cricket has invented so many new formats to please people who do not like it. No form of one-day cricket, he suggests, could ever supply the variety in patterns of play and in possible outcomes which makes first-class and Test cricket dramatic and memorable. He cites the case of Warwickshire, who will be playing in five different formats this summer at Edgbaston – and not always under their own name. At the behest of the city council which had supported the redevelopment of the ground they play T20 matches as the Birmingham Bears. Warwickshire were abandoning their history and mission of providing cricket for the whole county.
He is scathing about the corporatization of English cricket and its capitulation to market forces – especially in the England and Wales Cricket Board. Its directors might be those of any commercial company and reflected little past involvement in cricket. They had no commitment to preserving the heritage and ethos of the game. They were continuing to marginalize the County Championship and the counties themselves, which they were clearly seeking to cull. They were treating Test cricket not as the summit of the game but as a niche product and a branding opportunity. Insidiously, they were seeking to eliminate the superior status of first-class cricket – turning it into “red-ball” cricket, a version of the game no better than the many forms of “white-ball” cricket.
The ECB, he suggests, assumed that everything they had done in English cricket was progressive and inevitable rather than a matter of conscious choice. This was especially true of their centralization of control and their desperation to find formats to sell to any possible audience and to any broadcaster or commercial sponsor. He is saddened that the MCC appeared to be succumbing to the same corporate culture and to be too nervous to assert its role as a conservator of the character of the game. He believes that governments will continue to show little interest in the condition of English cricket – having made it a minority pursuit when they allowed its removal from free-to-air television.
The only remedy for the present ills of English cricket will be the empowerment of ordinary cricket-lovers. He sees some welcome signs that they are beginning to assert themselves at county level and even nationally against the prevailing corporate culture.
He concludes that the fundamental appeal of the game will always survive: its special ability to generate individual contests within a team event and to provide opportunities for so many different kinds of people to participate, to travel and to make friendships.
Peter Oborne has been the chief political commentator for the Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail, a maker of several documentaries and written and broadcast for many different media. He is the author of a biography of Basil D’Oliveira and of Wounded Tiger, a history of Pakistan cricket, both of which won major awards.
Richard Heller was a long-serving humorous columnist on The Mail on Sunday and more briefly, on The Times. He worked in the movie business in the United States and the UK, including a brief engagement on a motion picture called Cycle Sluts Versus The Zombie Ghouls. He is the author of two cricket-themed novels A Tale of Ten Wickets and The Network. He appeared in two Mastermind finals: in the first his special subject was the life of Sir Gary Sobers.
Oborne & Heller cricketing partnership
Jointly, he and Peter produced White On Green, celebrating the drama of Pakistan cricket, including the true story of the team which lost a first-class match by an innings and 851 runs.
Peter and Richard have played cricket with and against each other for a variety of social sides, including Parliament’s team, the Lords and Commons, and in over twenty countries including India, Pakistan, the United States, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, France, Greece, Australia, Zimbabwe, New Zealand and Morocco.
The Podcast is produced by Bridget Osborne and James Willcocks at The Chiswick Calendar.
The Chiswick Calendar CIC is a community resource. Please support us by buying us the equivalent of a monthly cup of coffee (or more, if you insist). Click here to support us.
We publish a weekly newsletter and update the website with local news and information daily. We are editorially independent.
https://chiswickcalendar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/TCC-white-on-white-1.png00Peter Oborne & Richard Hellerhttps://chiswickcalendar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/TCC-white-on-white-1.pngPeter Oborne & Richard Heller2022-03-28 17:22:112022-03-29 02:42:12Episode 84: Some searing yorkers at wreckers of cricket
The Zaparozhye Cossacks Writing a Mocking Letter to the Turkish Sultan *oil on canvas *358 × 203 cm *signed b.c.: И.Репин 1880-91
The Arts Society has found a uniquely fitting way to raise funds for Ukraine, with a fundraising study morning on Zoom and YouTube on Tuesday 12 April at 10.30am, tickets £25.
Among the artists included in the lectures by Dr Kathy McLaughlan is Ilya Repin (1844-1930), born Chuhiv, Kharkiv province in modern day Ukraine.
His painting above, Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks, depicts the legend of Cossacks sending an insulting reply in 1676 to an ultimatum from the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, Mehmed IV. The sultan had demanded the Cossacks submit to Ottoman rule despite the fact the Zaporozhian Cossacks had beaten his troops in battle.
Spool forward a few hundred years and it could be one of Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy’s videos.
Images above: Ilya Repin; two of his paintings of Ukrainians
Fundraising study morning details
The fundraising study morning will take place on Zoom and YouTube on Tuesday 12 April at 10.30am, tickets £25. All proceeds will be donated to the British Red Cross, Ukraine Crisis Appeal. The speaker is Arts Society lecturer Dr Kathy McLaughlan, who has lectured also at the Victoria & Albert Museum, the Open University and Birkbeck College.
The study morning is an introduction to the 19th century Ukrainian artist Ilya Repin and the landscape paintings of Ukrainian artist Arkhip Kuindzhi, Russian artist Ivan Shishkin and Lithuanian artist Isaac Levitan.
Get your ticket here: Ukrainian art lecture. The Zoom and YouTube links will be emailed to you automatically. If they exceed their Zoom limit, you can always use the YouTube link because YouTube has no maximum numbers. The study morning will not be recorded.
10.30-11.30am. Lecture 1: Ilya Repin (1844-1930 born Chuhiv, Kharkiv province in modern day Ukraine). An introduction to this prolific and astounding realist painter, famous for his portraits and his genre and historical paintings.
11.30-12 Break
12-1pm. Lecture 2: An introduction to the stunning, thought provoking and awe-inspiring landscapes of Arkhip Kuindzhi (1841-1910 born in Mariopol in modern day Ukraine), Ivan Shishkin (1832-1898 born in Yelabuga, Russia), and Isaac Levitan (1860-1900 born in Kibarty in modern day Lithuania)
The Arts Society Richmond is indebted to Kathy for giving her time free, to Arts Society Richmond member Jane Harrison for organising the study morning, and to Tixoom for waiving their fees.
The Chiswick Calendar CIC is a community resource. Please support us by buying us the equivalent of a monthly cup of coffee (or more, if you insist). Click here to support us.
We publish a weekly newsletter and update the website with local news and information daily. We are editorially independent.
https://chiswickcalendar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Ilya-Repin.jpg316250Bridget Osbornehttps://chiswickcalendar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/TCC-white-on-white-1.pngBridget Osborne2022-03-28 13:59:292022-03-28 13:59:29The Arts Society celebrates Ukrainian artists in unique fundraiser
The Invisible Thread ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Review by Andrea Carnevali
A teenage son of two fathers makes a documentary about his parents but is surprised when a real-life plot twist occurs in his family. Available to watch on Netflix.
Hidden away somewhere inside the never-ending well that is the Netflix catalogue, is the first feature-length “dramedy” by Italian documentary-maker Marco Simon Puccioni, a semi-autobiographical coming of age that explores that “invisible thread” from the title (il Filo Invisibile in Italian) that binds us together, whether genetically connected or not.
The story centres around Leone, a teenage son of two fathers, played by Francesco Gheghi, an Italian version of Timothèe Chamalet, the only type of young actor independent film-makers seem to go for these days.
Leone is making a documentary for a school project about what he calls “My Colorful Family”. It is through this device that, earlier on in the film, we learn how an American woman helped his two dads to bring him into the world.
We also have a peek into the apparent idyllic daily life of this family, seen as an example of unity, openness and complicity, despite the many legal and social struggles gay families have to go through in Italy, a country still steep in prejudice, confusion, misunderstandings and rhetoric when it comes to any LGBTQ+ issues.
It is a rather messy film which can never quite get its tone right, sometimes broad comedy, other times insightful and even rather touching. As I was watching I was constantly pulled in all sorts of directions, often laughing at some of the film’s over-the-top (and very Italian) portrayal of family dynamics, rolling my eyes at some really cheesy lines in the script and stumbling through gaping holes in some of the characters’ motivations (Leone’s girlfriend, for example, is probably being the worst offender). But I was also occasionally pleasantly surprised by some very smart choices, genuinely funny moments and acute observations about society today and people’s feelings in general.
It is clear that the material is very close to the director’s heart and despite the overall messiness, the many subplots and some slightly heavy-handed sentimentality (and over-acting by some of the players), I have to confess that by the end I was actually won over and even moved by its warmth and well-intentioned honesty.
This sort of melodrama probably plays better to an Italian like me, but the feelings the film talks about are pretty universal and will certainly make it likeable to anyone else too.
Andrea Carnevali is a Bafta winning film maker who lives in Chiswick.
The Invisible Thread is available to watch on Netflix.
The Chiswick Calendar CIC is a community resource. Please support us by buying us the equivalent of a monthly cup of coffee (or more, if you insist). Click here to support us.
We publish a weekly newsletter and update the website with local news and information daily. We are editorially independent.
The Metropolitan Police Service’s approach to tackling police corruption is not fit for purpose, the police inspectorate has said.
Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) found that the Met had not learned all the lessons from its failed investigation into the 1987 murder of private investigator Daniel Morgan, which was hampered by police corruption.
The HMICFRS inspection found “no evidence of any deliberate or co-ordinated attempts” by the Met to “frustrate” the work of the Morgan inquiry – and said while there was much to criticise, based on this inspection “it would not describe the Met as institutionally corrupt”.
HMICFRS acknowledged that the Met’s capability to investigate the most serious corruption allegations is particularly impressive, and other police forces regularly call on their expertise. The inspectorate praised the Met’s confidential reporting line and its dedicated team to support whistle-blowers.
But it also recognised that the Met had greatly reduced the number of personnel who were not security vetted.
Inspector of Constabulary Matt Parr said that the Met had “sometimes behaved in ways that make it appear arrogant, secretive and lethargic”. The inspectorate’s overall finding was that the Met’s counter-corruption arrangements and procedures are fundamentally flawed.
Image above: Met Police officers
Met recruits people with ‘criminal connections’ and previous offenders
The watchdog found in the past two years, the Met has recruited people with criminal connections and more than 100 people who had previously committed offences. Some of these recruitment decisions may have been justifiable, but the force failed to properly supervise these people to lessen the risks.
Property and exhibits procedures were dire. Hundreds of items were not accounted for, including cash and drugs. In one instance, the security access code for a property store had been inscribed on the outside of the door.
The force doesn’t know whether all those in sensitive posts – such as child protection, major crime investigation, and informant handling – have been cleared to the level of security vetting needed. Over 2,000 warrant cards issued to personnel who had since left the force were left unaccounted for.
The Met still does not have the capability to proactively monitor its IT systems, despite repeated warnings from the inspectorate. IT monitoring is used by most forces to enhance their ability to identify corrupt personnel.
‘Unacceptable’ that Met is not rectifying failures
Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary Matt Parr said:
“It is unacceptable that 35 years after Daniel Morgan’s murder, the Metropolitan Police has not done enough to ensure its failings from that investigation cannot be repeated. In fact, we found no evidence that someone, somewhere, had adopted the view that this must never happen again. This will be understandably distressing for Mr Morgan’s family and friends, to whom we send our condolences.
“We found substantial weaknesses in the Met’s approach to tackling police corruption. From failing to properly supervise police officers who have previously committed offences, to inadequate vetting procedures, and much more besides, it is clear that the current arrangements are not fit for purpose. The Met’s apparent tolerance of these shortcomings suggests a degree of indifference to the risk of corruption.
“We have made several recommendations for change. If public confidence in the Metropolitan Police is to be improved, they should be among the Commissioner’s highest priorities.”
The Chiswick Calendar CIC is a community resource. Please support us by buying us the equivalent of a monthly cup of coffee (or more, if you insist). Click here to support us.
We publish a weekly newsletter and update the website with local news and information daily. We are editorially independent.
https://chiswickcalendar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/5749059480_f180f147fd_b.jpeg6831024Matt Smithhttps://chiswickcalendar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/TCC-white-on-white-1.pngMatt Smith2022-03-25 18:43:462022-03-29 00:50:37Met Police approach to corruption ‘not fit for purpose’
Parents and carers of children at Southfield Primary School Nursery are fighting to keep the Nursery open, after being told it would close at the end of the school year.
A consultation on the plan began this Wednesday (23 March) and runs until 20 April. The reasoning behind the decision is that only 16 children are in the nursery for the 2021-2022 year, which is significantly lower than previous years. The school itself will remain open.
Many children who attend the nursery will move into reception in September, but around half had hoped to stay and repeat a year in a setting with which they are familiar.
A group of parents opposed to the plan are hoping to spread awareness of the nursery’s planned closure, in the hopes this will encourage people to register their children to join this September, forcing the governing body to consider keeping it open.
Possible reasons for the low enrolment might include families leaving Chiswick during the pandemic, and lack of marketing by the nursery compared with others in the area.
Parents “can’t speak highly enough” of the nursery
One parent said:
“Southfield Primary School has gone from strength to strength in recent years with the appointment of a new headmaster and a passionate PTA. From the regular cake sales to the beautifully maintained wildlife garden, which was a real community effort, together with several new teachers and many exciting extra curriculum activities and events.
“The parents of those children currently attending can’t speak highly enough of the nursery and the teaching staff. “
Once comments to the consultation have all been received the school’s governing body will make the final decision on the nursery’s future.
Another parent, Amy Marshall, said:
‘My daughter attended another nursery locally prior to Southfield so perhaps my expectations were low (despite that other nursery being a far more expensive private option) and both my husband and I were totally blown away by how wonderful Southfield nursery is, how much she learns and how happy she is to go there every day.
‘I can’t remember the last time I saw any of the children upset at drop off – they all happily go in each morning and bounce out in the afternoon with smiles on their faces! The nursery teacher, Ms Gibbons is an incredible asset to the school. It will be an incredible shame for the local community to lose the nursery.’
The Chiswick Calendar CIC is a community resource. Please support us by buying us the equivalent of a monthly cup of coffee (or more, if you insist). Click here to support us.
We publish a weekly newsletter and update the website with local news and information daily. We are editorially independent.
Image above: One of Brentford FCCST’s youth engagement programmes
Brentford FC Community Sports Trust is teaming up with global engineering company Worley to promote and deliver an educational programme combining science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM).
The programme will involve participants aged eight to 18 and will include school-based STEAM projects, events at the Trust’s new social, education and health hub, career workshops and a STEAM summer school. Staff from both Worley and the Trust will work together to deliver the programme to local young people, aiming to raise awareness of the job opportunities which exist in the industry and inspire more people to get involved in STEAM-related fields.
Worley is an engineering company with a worldwide team of consultants, engineers, construction workers and data scientists working in the hydrocarbons, mining, mineral, metals, chemicals, power and infrastructure sectors.
Much of the programme will be delivered at the Trust’s new social, education and health hub which is due to open in Spring 2022. Located adjacent to Brentford Community Stadium, the hub will be a vibrant learning space for young people throughout Hounslow, Ealing and surrounding boroughs.
As the official STEAM Partner, the Worley brand will also be visible at Brentford Community Stadium, with LED perimeter boards providing global exposure at first team matches.
Image above: Range of engineering sectors in which Worley has projects
STEAM jobs offers unique opportunity to young people
Lee Doyle, Brentford FC Community Sports Trust CEO, welcomed the partnership and spoke of the importance of the STEAM sector:
“In the future, the STEAM sector is expected to be one of the largest employment sectors in the world. Innovation and the development of technologies are going to create more and more career prospects and it is in that context that we are hugely excited to announce Worley as our Official STEAM partner.
“This partnership will establish a unique programme at our new hub facility, helping to expand our offering to the young people across west London.”
Nicola Mason, Vice President London, Energy said:
“Worley is delighted to be working with Brentford Football Club Community Sports Trust and we’re really looking forward to working on STEAM activities together aiming to make a difference to the career opportunities for young people in our local area.”
Lee Doyle concluded by emphasising the need to promote STEAM opportunities to young people from all backgrounds:
“With the backing of the Club and with our move to the new stadium, we know we can play a unique role in the area to reach young people from different communities including many who are disadvantaged. This programme will inspire the next generation, while addressing the need for STEAM skills which will be so vital to the future development of the UK economy.”
The Chiswick Calendar CIC is a community resource. Please support us by buying us the equivalent of a monthly cup of coffee (or more, if you insist). Click here to support us.
We publish a weekly newsletter and update the website with local news and information daily. We are editorially independent.
https://chiswickcalendar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Brentford-FCCST-perogramme_web.jpg6181182Matt Smithhttps://chiswickcalendar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/TCC-white-on-white-1.pngMatt Smith2022-03-25 16:14:462022-03-28 17:18:12Brentford FC and global engineering firm Worley team up to provide youth education programme
Image above: Cllr Ron Mushisho, Seb Wallace, Zoe Nixon & Jack Emsley
Chiswick councillor Ron Mushiso has announced he is relaunching a local donation drive for second hand laptops and other technology to support Ukrainian refugees.
Local community activists Jack Emsley, Zoe Nixon and Seb Wallace are also involved in the laptop drive, and are asking residents to drop-off second-hand laptops to Rocks Lane Sports Centre (W4 1RZ). A donation point will be open between 9.00am and 9.00pm Monday to Friday, and between 9.00am to 6.00pm on weekends.
The initiative comes almost exactly a year on from the previous laptop donations drive, which saw more than 500 second-hand laptops and other devices donated in Chiswick and Brentford to help schoolchildren across the borough overcome the ‘digital divide’ during the pandemic. The team behind the original scheme is again working with Veritas Digital so Ukrainian refugees can connect with their family and friends, as well as their new community in London.
“It’s great to team up with Laptops4Learning again to help support those escaping the violence in Ukraine,” said Councillor Ron Mushiso.
“I was so glad that our initiative was able to help so many schoolchildren here in the borough, and I know that our community can step up once again to help support Ukrainian refugees with their unwanted laptops and digital devices.”
The relaunch is being supported by local businesswoman Zoe Nixon, Chiswick-based tech entrepreneur Seb Wallace and Jack Emsley, a former Brentford Mutual Aid and Lapops4Learning organiser.
All devices donated at Rock Lane Sports Centre will be professionally wiped clean and reloaded with updated software thanks to Veritas Digital Services before being donated to community groups supporting Ukrainian refugees or, in certain local cases, donated directly to refugees who are in Chiswick as part of the Government’s Homes for Ukraine scheme.
The Chiswick Calendar CIC is a community resource. Please support us by buying us the equivalent of a monthly cup of coffee (or more, if you insist). Click here to support us.
We publish a weekly newsletter and update the website with local news and information daily. We are editorially independent.
A man breaks into a tech billionaire’s empty vacation home, but things go sideways when the arrogant mogul and his wife arrive for a last-minute getaway. Available to watch on Netflix.
If you really want to know how I feel about Windfall, let me just tell you that I watched the film four days ago and as I sat down to write my little “report”, I realised I could hardly remember anything about it. This is the impact it made on me (arguably, I do watch a lot of films). Having said that, now that I’m trying to cast my mind back to it, I have to confess that I didn’t mind the experience of watching it, while I did.
The plot itself could be written on the back of a post-stamp: Jason Segel stars as a nameless burglar who breaks into a billionaire’s empty holiday home. When suddenly the owner (Jesse Plemons) and his wife (Lily Collins) show up, things take a sudden turn for the worse and the “simple” robbery becomes kidnapping.
Windfall is essentially a chamber piece, which could easily be turned into a play, set entirely in and around the house and mostly centred around the three characters.
It’s an interesting experiment and even though it’s not completely successful, it’s held together by some good acting by all three leads.
Jason Segel (here co-writing the script as well) is obviously in search of a change of direction in his career, veering towards more dramatic roles, trying really hard to shake off the nine years he spent in the TV series How I Met Your Mother. He’s actually quite good in this, bringing both sadness, confusion and repressed rage to his ambiguous character. Having said that, I must confess I struggled to keep the image of him singing with the Muppets off my mind from time to time.
But it’s the ever-reliable Plemons who keeps the electricity going (and the film together) as the increasingly unlikeable rich CEO.
The film is only 92 minutes and while the ingredients seem to be all there in place, at times I just wished it didn’t feel so slow as it did. There were definitely moments when Windfall dragged a bit as if they had to pad it out to reach a feature length.
Not every twist and turn made complete sense and I definitely saw the ending coming from miles away. It almost felt like a first draft of a better movie, the one that those actors really deserved.
Andrea Carnevali is a Bafta winning film maker who lives in Chiswick.
The Chiswick Calendar CIC is a community resource. Please support us by buying us the equivalent of a monthly cup of coffee (or more, if you insist). Click here to support us.
We publish a weekly newsletter and update the website with local news and information daily. We are editorially independent.
In 1979 a group of young filmmakers set out to make an adult film in rural Texas, but when their reclusive, elderly hosts catch them in the act, the cast find themselves fighting for their lives. On in cinemas now.
The premise for X is pretty simple: a group of young (and horny) actors sets out to make an adult film in rural Texas (New Zealand dressed up as deep America) near the house of a reclusive elderly couple who, we’ll soon discover, are hiding something…
X is clearly intended as a homage to those classic slasher films from the past: its visual language, its lighting, its split screen and wipe-transitions are all reminiscent of the style of the ‘70s.
Echoes from Texas Chain Saw Massacre are the most obvious ones, but if you are well acquainted with the genre, you will undoubtedly see hints from The Hills Have Eyes, the whole Friday the 13th series, and several Easter eggs from classics like Psycho, the first ever slasher, Peter Jackson’s Braindead, a cult-classic among gore-lovers and even Kubrick’s The Shining.
Whether having all these references make it a better film or not is up for debate. Judging by the astonishing 96% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, critics seem to have embraced it.
I’m a lot more sceptical.
As is often the case with this sort of stuff, the plot is secondary to everything else. It’s just an excuse to get to the various expendable (and mostly interchangeable) members of the cast, chopped up in one way or another, until the inevitable gruesome final act, in which the “last girl” survivor (usually running half naked at night), tries to take control of the situation.
I don’t really have a problem with any of that. It worked in the ‘70s and to a degree in some of the ‘80s.
I do consider Texas Chain Saw Massacre pretty much a masterpiece in its own genre: one of the rawest (with almost a documentary quality to it), most terrifying, relentless and remorseless piece of horror filmmaking ever made, which somehow surpassed all its weaknesses (the one-note characters, the cheap cinematography and grainy look) and actually made them its strength.
And if that’s its point of reference, X leaves a lot to be desired, in fact it left me pretty cold. The fact that I’ve grown up watching dozens of those (mostly poor) slasher films should have made me the perfect candidate for this one.
Or maybe I wonder whether my knowledge of the genre played against this film: I can see right through it. I found nothing original in it. Nothing caught me by surprise, I wasn’t really much scared, nor particularly amused or entertained.
The film takes about one hour before the first kill happens. I mean, this is isn’t Shakespeare and none of those characters are particularly interesting to watch. I wasn’t quite sure what was the reason for this long build up. Even the so-called “sexy” scenes were boring. And then once the killings start, I was amazed by how predictable and unoriginal they all were.
X felt to me like a student film made by somebody who really loved classic slashers, but he’s unable to bring any new spin to them, beyond just copying them (arguably pretty well).
The director Ti West has recently revealed that a prequel to X has already been filmed and it is only a few months away from release, which probably explains why the part of the old lady was played by the young Mia Goth under a huge amount of prosthetics. Another bad decision in my view which only served to distract my attention from the film as I was constantly looking at this odd face, thinking “this doesn’t look right… is that make up?”
If you like the genre, the only X you should be watching is an episode from The X-Files called Home which actually bares quite a lot of similarities with this film. It only lasts 42 minutes but it’s so much more disturbing, original and terrifying (it was even banned from US TV for a while), than any of the 105 minutes of X.
Alternatively Cabin in the woods, which celebrates its 10th anniversary since it was first released this week, is a better (and smarter) example of a homage to the horror genre with something to say.
Andrea Carnevali is a Bafta winning film maker who lives in Chiswick.
The Chiswick Calendar CIC is a community resource. Please support us by buying us the equivalent of a monthly cup of coffee (or more, if you insist). Click here to support us.
We publish a weekly newsletter and update the website with local news and information daily. We are editorially independent.
https://chiswickcalendar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/X-2.jpg518780Andrea Carnevalihttps://chiswickcalendar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/TCC-white-on-white-1.pngAndrea Carnevali2022-03-24 09:41:422022-04-04 09:59:18Andrea’s film review – X
A man is able to choose his own afterlife after his untimely death, by having his consciousness uploaded into a virtual world. As he gets used to his new life and befriends his angel (real world handler), questions about his death arise. Available to watch on Prime.
The first season of Upload, created by Emmy-winning writer Greg Daniels (the brain behind the American version of The Office, Parks and Recreation), was one of the most enjoyable series I saw last year.
On the surface it looked very silly, and probably some of it was, but in fact it was a lot smarter than it looked and often surprisingly poignant. Its fast pace and the fact that most of the episodes were under 30 minutes made it the perfect bingeable guilty pleasure during lockdown. I remember watching it all in a weekend and loving it.
Weaving some of the dark elements from things like Black Mirror but also those laugh-out-loud comedy bits from The Good Place, Upload is set in a near-future where it is possible to upload yourself into a virtual afterlife once you’re dead.
The result was a thoughtful and at times inspired satire about life and death, relationships, capitalism and our obsession with technology. A series which wasn’t afraid to pull extreme punches while at the same time never lost sight of how silly it is.
Season two, which has just been released on Amazon Prime, is shorter and hasn’t quite got the edge or the sparkle from the first one, preferring instead to focus more on developing some of the characters and the various plotlines.
Whist it still makes some interesting statements about class divide, it often feels rushed and more superficial than it was last year, lacking in some of the thrills which made it season one so addictive.
Having said that, the chemistry between the characters is as palpable as ever, the jokes still come thick and fast and overall it is still a wildly entertaining TV series.
The intriguing cliffhanger at the end will make you wish season three could come out tomorrow.
Andrea Carnevali is a Bafta winning film maker who lives in Chiswick.
The Chiswick Calendar CIC is a community resource. Please support us by buying us the equivalent of a monthly cup of coffee (or more, if you insist). Click here to support us.
We publish a weekly newsletter and update the website with local news and information daily. We are editorially independent.
The horrors of modern dating seen through one young woman’s defiant battle to survive her new boyfriend’s unusual appetites. Available to watch on Disney +
It all starts off rather innocently, as these things do, in a typical sweet romantic comedy fashion, as we follow Noa (Daisy Edgar-Jones) going through the painful process of online dating. She’s so deflated and exasperated by the whole experience than when she meets, seemingly by chance, sweet and handsome Steve (Sebastian Stan) in a grocery store, she’s seems to be all too willing to give it (and him) a chance.
We’ve seen too many of these stories before not to know that something is fishy and all is not going to go according to plan.
Let me warn you, Fresh may look like a stylish and polished take on modern dating but at 33 minutes into it, the main title appears, the opening credits finally roll and the film pulls the rag from under your feet and takes a huge turn spiralling into darkness and revealing itself as a pure full-on, visceral horror, which will make The Tinder Swindler look like a walk in the park and will most likely keep you off dating for a while.
This is really not one for the faint-hearted nor the squeamish, and even if the film intentionally chooses to avoid the tired old “torture porn” graphic formula (in fact most of the gore is “suggested” rather than “shown”) it is still a rather disturbing journey.
What works best for me is when she keeps the focus on the victim’s point of view and we live it all through her prospective.
Director Mimi Cave (here on her first film) understands how ludicrous this story is and injects enough comedy and madness into it to show that she doesn’t take any of this too seriously… and so we shouldn’t either.
Unfortunately she doesn’t quite have the experience or the conviction to stick to this point of view throughout the film and after a while all the good intentions at social satire give away to slightly more conventional horror tropes, particularly in the last act.
Having said that, if you like this kind of stuff, Fresh is still a gripping, hugely entertaining film, even if not particularly nuanced or deep, with some great performances and wild twists: I’m not sure whether I’ll be able to see Bucky from the Avengers in the same light ever again after this.
A surprising choice for a streaming channel like Disney+ (or rather its internal “Star”), which after conquering every single child in the western world is now aiming at a more mature audience too.
Andrea Carnevali is a Bafta winning film maker who lives in Chiswick.
The Chiswick Calendar CIC is a community resource. Please support us by buying us the equivalent of a monthly cup of coffee (or more, if you insist). Click here to support us.
We publish a weekly newsletter and update the website with local news and information daily. We are editorially independent.
It appears there has been a breakthrough in the political deadlock which has bedevilled the restoration of Hammersmith Bridge, with LB Hammersmith & Fulham, Transport for London and the government all saying the others should pay for the cost of repairs.
Hammersmith & Fulham Council has announced this morning that the Hammersmith Bridge Restoration Project has officially been launched today (22 March) by Hammersmith & Fulham Leader Cllr Stephen Cowan, representatives from Transport for London (TfL), Baroness Vere, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Transport (DfT), and Cllr Gareth Roberts, Leader of Richmond Council.
They say the government confirmed that it will pay its one-third share of the Phase 1 £8.9million stabilisation works. Transport for London (TfL) is also expected to confirm its contribution.
The stabilisation works are necessary to prevent future closures of the 135-year-old Grade II* listed structure to pedestrians, cyclists and river traffic below, and to secure the bridge to enable its subsequent full strengthening and restoration.
‘The works – which began last month – were expedited after Hammersmith & Fulham Council decided in December to approve the £8.9m investment in full, in anticipation of the DfT and TfL subsequently agreeing to pay their shares.’
Leader of Hammersmith & Fulham Council Cllr Stephen Cowan said:
“I am determined to fix the bridge as speedily as possible. That’s why we took the initiative to begin the stabilisation works and to kickstart the full restoration project.
“So, I am very pleased that Baroness Vere has joined us today and formally announced the Department for Transport’s commitment to help fund the restoration project. We welcome that contribution. We look forward to TfL following suit.
“Hammersmith Bridge is one of the world’s oldest suspension bridges, a unique part of our country’s engineering heritage and one of the most expensive bridges in Britain to repair.
“Thanks to the award-winning work by the H&F team of world-leading engineers, we have been able to re-open the bridge to pedestrians, cyclists and river traffic below.
“Now we’re forging ahead with the £8.9m stabilisation programme after our team developed an alternative solution which will save local and national taxpayers £21m compared to the previous proposal.”
Image above: Engineers explain their plans
Leader of Richmond Council Cllr Gareth Roberts said:
“Today is good news for residents on both sides of the bridge. It is reassuring to see H&F engineers getting on with the job and committing to keeping the bridge open as much as possible during the works programme. I also warmly welcome Baroness Vere’s confirmation that the Department for Transport will pay its one-third share.”
The politicians have just managed to scrape their agreement in before the third anniversary of the bridge’s closure to motor traffic on 10 April 2019.
The government announced it was setting up a task force in September 2020 to expedite matters. Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps blamed the lack of movement on “a lack of leadership in London”. Transport for London found itself virtually bankrupted by Covid. Hammersmith & Fulham also maintained they did not have the money to pay for the necessary repairs, while the government continued to insist they must pay.
A ferry crossing was planned and then abandoned. Architects Foster + Partners came up with radical plans for temporary crossing. Finally Hammersmith & Fulham signed off stabilisation works in August last year by specialist engineers Mott MacDonald which they said were £21m cheaper than the former scheme put forward by engineering consultants Pell Frischmann.
Now it appears they have finally agreed on how it is to be funded. Here is the rest of the Council’s press release:
Image above: Presenting a united front
Repairing one of the world’s oldest suspension bridges
Cllr Cowan, Baroness Vere, Cllr Roberts and TfL’s David Rowe, Head of Major Projects & Renewals, as well as Alex Batey, TfL’s Director of Investment Delivery Planning, were given a behind-the-scenes look at the work currently taking place to repair cracks in the cast-iron pedestals which are believed to have been caused by unchecked corrosion dating back over 70 years to when the bridge was owned by London County Council.
H&F Council’s specialist contractors will be removing all the casings of the four corner cast-iron pedestals. This work is being undertaken by our contractor FM Conway and their sub-contractors, Freyssinet Ltd and Taziker Industrial Ltd. Arcadis have been appointed as project manager.
Once the four casings have been removed, the contractor is required to fill the pedestals with concrete, install steel frames around them and jack up elements of the structure to replace the bearings.
The casing removals and jacking operations will be undertaken using cranes that will be positioned on the carriageway at both entrances to the bridge.
The Phase 1 stabilisation work is expected to be completed by the end of October.
The Phase 2 strengthening and full restoration works, which will allow the bridge to re-open to buses and cars, will take place following completion of the stabilisation project.
Image above: Hammersmith Bridge
Moving towards full re-opening
On 7 March, we allocated a further £3.5m investment to start the essential expert studies which will lead to the Phase 2 full strengthening and restoration programme.
That includes essential concept design work on the alternative proposal developed by architects and engineers Foster + Partners and specialist bridge engineers COWI.
This project, which is being considered alongside the existing TfL plan, could see a temporary double-decker crossing installed using the existing bridge foundations. It may see the bridge opening to motor vehicles and buses two years earlier than proposed previously and at a lower cost to taxpayers
Other necessary work being carried out involves geotechnical studies, crowd-loading assessments and traffic modelling. H&F is once again providing the funding upfront, to expedite the full re-opening of the bridge.
New rules to keep bridge safe
To enable the works to be undertaken safely, the main carriageway section of the bridge is now closed off.
The bridge continues to be open to pedestrians. Cyclists, motorcylists and legal e-scooters can also still cross the bridge provided they dismount and share the footways with pedestrians. The towpath on the Barnes side of the bridge will remain open.
Access over the bridge will only be interrupted for safety reasons when jacking operations are in progress. This will only be undertaken for short periods and advance notification will be given to residents and users.
The Chiswick Calendar CIC is a community resource. Please support us by buying us the equivalent of a monthly cup of coffee (or more, if you insist). Click here to support us.
We publish a weekly newsletter and update the website with local news and information daily. We are editorially independent.
https://chiswickcalendar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Bridge-5.jpg10671600Bridget Osbornehttps://chiswickcalendar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/TCC-white-on-white-1.pngBridget Osborne2022-03-22 13:43:122022-03-22 14:06:28An end to the political deadlock over Hammersmith Bridge
It’s Mother’s Day next Sunday (27 March). Wheelers, the family run garden centre next to Turnham Green tube station, has an array of plants and flowers and offer a 15% discount off everything they sell in the garden centre to Chiswick Calendar Club Card holders.
Here’s a sample of the range currently in stock – potted summer bulbs and spring displays in containers – summer jasmine, narcissi, daffodils, camellias, orchids, hydrangeas, hyacinths, lovely mixed herb pots which are great for the kitchen, indoor plants, hanging plants, pots, through to shrubs and fruit trees.
Wheelers also sell cut flowers and make up bouquets – not included in the discount offer – and their staff can advise on planting and plant care.
The Chiswick Calendar CIC is a community resource. Please support us by buying us the equivalent of a monthly cup of coffee (or more, if you insist). Click here to support us.
We publish a weekly newsletter and update the website with local news and information daily. We are editorially independent.
https://chiswickcalendar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Wheelers-10.jpg1024768Bridget Osbornehttps://chiswickcalendar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/TCC-white-on-white-1.pngBridget Osborne2022-03-22 10:57:162022-03-22 10:58:56Mother’s Day ideas from Wheeler’s Garden Centre
The two residents groups which represent Strand on the Green and Grove Park jointly held a public meeting last week on what to do about regulating traffic in Chiswick south of the A4.
They had carried out a consultation of their members which produced a large majority (70%) in favour of some measures to restrict traffic, but an even larger majority (87%) who want changes made to the current measures, brought in over the past two years to stop commuters rat-running through a residential area in their thousands every day.
The changes are confusing, have resulted in many penalty notices and the refusal of Uber drivers to pick up and drop off beyond a certain point and businesses to see a drop in trade, causing anger and frustration. Cllr Hanif Khan, Hounslow Cabinet Member for Transport, was there and promised to listen (if he is re-elected in Chiswick Gunnersbury ward in May).
We asked Karen Liebreich, car owner, cyclist, environmental community activist and Grove Park resident, who was at the meeting, to unpack the issues and consider what is to be done.
Guest blog
By Dr Karen Liebreich MBE
Last Thursday (17 March) the Grove Park Group and Strand on the Green Association co-hosted a public meeting to discuss the traffic changes in what the council call South Chiswick, and most locals call Grove Park.
In 2019 the London Borough of Hounslow embarked on a scheme entitled the South Chiswick Liveable Neighbourhood to try and reduce the amount of traffic cutting through Grove Park from the A316 to the A4, to improve connectivity between the river and the rest of Chiswick, including the upcoming Cycleway 9 on the High Road, to improve the Grove Park piazza for pedestrians and people on bikes, and to create school streets and low traffic neighbourhoods south of the A4.
Data was collected and schemes were being prepared. It was acknowledged that local levels of traffic (6,000 cars per day on Staveley Road, 3,000 on Thames Road, 70% driving over 20 mph on Hartington Rd) were unacceptable. The local councillors were fully consulted. They agreed about the problems but the solutions were still under discussion.
Then came Covid, and in May 2020 the national (Conservative) government, in conjunction with the (Labour) London Mayor, announced a Streetspace scheme to speed up the creation of safer spaces for walking and cycling. At the same time evidence about the effects of air pollution on children’s lungs, dementia levels, asthma suffering etc began to accumulate, and with the lockdowns people suddenly realised how quiet and safe streets could be were it not for the dominance of the car.
Streetspace measures were introduced under Emergency Traffic Orders, with the intention that these could be modified as their effectiveness – or otherwise – became clearer. Some – such as the dramatic closure of Turnham Green Terrace, at the same time as Fishers Lane, and with Acton Lane compromised by a damaged water mains leak – were obviously poorly thought through and were soon abandoned.
Devonshire Road, which had been working well at a social level with most hospitality outlets pleased with it, was also abandoned by the newly appointed Head of Transport, leaving many of the cafes and restaurants unhappy with the outcome. Cycleway 9, which had already received planning approval, was to be installed quickly in a more temporary layout.
In South Chiswick a confusing mixture of solutions was proposed. Some roads were closed with barriers (Harvard Hill, Staveley Road), some were resident only (Hartington Road), some had timed entry and exit (Thames Road), some became school streets (Grove Park Terrace, part of Staveley).
As these were adapted following feedback, changes were made, often resulting in more confusion. Council communication was poor. Signage was legal, but often ignored by people who had travelled their usual routes for years. Some signage was vandalised, resulting in more confusion. Fines began to mount up.
GPG/SOGA solution
The Grove Park Group and the Strand-on-the-Green Association eventually proposed an alternative scheme, comprising nine Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras, which would fine people driving through ‘except for access’, enforced by timings between entrance and exit (similar to the current scheme for Thames Road). They believed this would permit access for residents, visitors, shops, deliveries and taxis, while preventing through traffic.
This idea was presented to the Head of Traffic, Jefferson Nwokeoma and Cabinet lead for Transport, Cllr Hanif Khan but was rejected. One reason was that it would massively increase the number of PCNs (Penalty Charge Notices); neither GPG nor SOGA could cite another successful scheme of similar complexity. A ‘South Fulham scheme’, based on a white list of permitted cars was much admired by Councillor Sam Hearn, even though GPG/SOGA favoured a different scheme using ‘except for access’ rather than a whitelist.
Survey, meeting and hustings
In February and early March 2022 GPG and SOGA carried out a survey. 582 responded, of whom 441 were from within the Grove Park/SoTG area, 141 from outside. The vast majority (87%) wanted changes made to the current measures. A large majority of residents within the area (70%) wanted some measures to restrict traffic; the vast majority (89%) from outside the area wanted no restrictions.
At the meeting last Thursday these survey findings were presented. The church was full; the audience was mostly elderly and almost entirely white. There were no young people apart from one bored child. Although a good turnout, it could hardly be considered representative of the area as a whole. As one participant later noted, it essentially comprised a ‘self-selected “no change” group.’
The SOGA representative noted that some of the worst problems for pedestrians and cyclists are at the junctions of the A4 and Sutton Court Road, and at Hartington and the A316, and thought that these could be easily resolved. Those of us who have dealt with TfL to improve these junctions grinned wryly, knowing that this is not at all easy.
Speakers from the community then presented their views. Sue Birch from Busby’s Pharmacy said that she was conflicted; as a resident she had noticed the improvement in quality of life, she was now able to smell flowers and hear bird song instead of car traffic, but as a business she had lost around 15% of trade from passing traffic (though local prescription rates had not changed). Deliveries were also problematic as the timings of the differing schemes were confusing (though these have recently been harmonised).
A resident, Victoria Lynch, claimed she was disenfranchised and cited a now debunked newspaper article concerning pollution levels in Islington, though the relevance to the Chiswick scheme seemed tenuous at best.
“We are in a ghetto,” she announced, “Friends and family are frightened to visit.” The audience applauded. A Dr Rosen who lives on Waldeck Road, said his children could no longer access the sports facilities at Roko (a quick Google check shows this journey is 1.3miles, 7 minutes cycle ride away).
Vanessa Townsend, deputy head at Strand School told how she only had parking for 15 staff members, but 30 needed parking space. Staff members were leaving because there was no parking. The lack of parking meant her staff could no longer visit the pub with their families. No-one mentioned that the parking changes might be linked to the new sports stadium and irrelevant to the LTN.
Lawrence Waterman OBE, who lives on Park Road, and was the head of Health & Safety for the 2012 Olympics, and is now the Chairman of the British Safety Council spoke in favour of the changes. He explained how pollution kills 40,000 people a year. How there is no point in saying ‘we must do something about it’, but not accepting that there might be some personal inconvenience. Just as smokers claimed that banning smoking would be the end of pubs and businesses, so we must accept that we must drive less. The audience booed. Behind me a resident, Karen Cadbury, said, ‘I bet he’s a cyclist’ (he isn’t).
Clover Summer, a local mother of three primary school age children, sent in a statement:
‘I support the road changes, as they have made walking and cycling with children much safer for local trips, like to Harvard Hill, Chiswick House, Dukes Meadows and the High Road, all of which we can now get to on quiet roads. We rarely use the car now. I’ve had no problems with tradespeople, taxis or visitors since the measures came in (including the newest changes). I don’t support the ANPR camera idea because I think stopping rat runners is only half the story – we also need to disincentivise driving for short local trips, if we want quieter streets and lower transport emissions.’
Resident Chantal Gargour noted that she was a nature-lover, worked for Trees for Cities, and – although she found the signage incoherent – she was pleased with the changes.
Cllr Hanif Khan stepped up. He was there as Hounslow’s lead cabinet member for Transport, but everyone knew he was also standing for a neighbouring Chiswick ward at the upcoming election. He pointed out that he had visited the GPG chair’s house, had listened to him, had met many residents. He had taken lots of notes and listened carefully. The audience, many of whom felt that they had not been listened to, barracked in disbelief. Khan won points for bravery, but few for clear explanations.
Cllr Sam Hearn took the stage. He said that the Harvard Hill and Staveley Road barriers were now unnecessary. He demanded facts – conveniently not mentioning that over twenty traffic monitors throughout the area which would have provided some facts, had all been vandalised one night (his colleague, Cllr Biddolph, blamed playful fox cubs having a busy and well-organised night biting through them).
He had been told that Hounslow couldn’t afford Air Quality monitoring, although he noted that highly paid officers had come in secretly in October and installed diffusion monitors. He explained how Low Traffic Neighbourhoods only move pollution elsewhere, and blamed a “cult, magic thinking” for taking over the council and, presumably, the (Conservative) Department of Transport.
Soon he was back on his favourite subject, the lack of modal shift, which he has repeated like a mantra for the past years with increasing volume and decreasing credibility. He concluded by crying “The signage is absolutely rubbish! Sort it out!” The audience applauded.
Then Cllr Gabriella Giles took the mic. Like her father, David, the ex-Conservative chair of Grove Park’s Riverside ward, now expelled from the party, she is a fervent believer in getting rid of all the current changes. She called the current changes “the one single most important issue that impacts this ward in our lifetime.”
After a painfully obscure digression via rugby strategies she noted that she had cycled in the area as a child and had only recently begun to have issues. The system was not fair, she said, it created a hierarchy. She complained that transport officers were transferred (in fact most of the department left, several in despair at having to deal with the daily complaints of Chiswick residents). Tricky junctions such as those on the A4 and A316, she said, were seen as too difficult for the council to deal with (although these fall under the authority of the almost bankrupt TfL rather than the council).
The Lib Dems for a nearby ward were allowed to speak and mumbled something incoherent about lack of consultation though of course they believed in doing something. The Greens sent in a statement.
One man, who said he had to drive his 93-year-old mother to the doctor every day, expressed the views of many when he said that as a Chiswick resident he had the right to drive his car wherever he wanted, whenever he wanted, and that no-one should be able to prevent him.
Someone asked Cllr Khan how much money had been made from PCNs. He said he didn’t have the precise figures to hand for each road, but that it fell far short of the £9 million that Hounslow had to pay TfL for all the over 60s to have free bus passes. Gabriella Giles gleefully announced that it was over £2 million pounds for Hartington alone. Of course, the GPG/SOGA scheme with many additional cameras would likely bring in far more.
Instead of being appalled at so many people failing to read road signs properly, or wondering how many more would pay PCNs with the desired nine camera solution, she loudly demanded that the audience vote Conservative for four more years of her as councillor.
The audience cheered loudly in anticipation of four more years of being represented by councillors who have completely failed to make any impact or to see the wider picture, but who successfully play to the tendency of some in Chiswick to feel they are a victim of terrible oppression by occasionally being forced to drive an additional few yards.
Somewhere, outside the little W4 bubble, where the “single most important issue” is a short traffic detour, there is a climate and pollution emergency.
The Chiswick Calendar CIC is a community resource. Please support us by buying us the equivalent of a monthly cup of coffee (or more, if you insist). Click here to support us.
We publish a weekly newsletter and update the website with local news and information daily. We are editorially independent.
https://chiswickcalendar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Karen-Liebreich-portrait_web.jpg15831314Bridget Osbornehttps://chiswickcalendar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/TCC-white-on-white-1.pngBridget Osborne2022-03-22 10:21:292022-03-22 10:25:10Anger but no consensus on what do to about regulating traffic through Grove Park
Image above: Gunnersbury Park; photograph Jennifer Griffiths
Gunnersbury Estate, the company which runs Gunnersbury Park, is planning a series of one day events in August, with music from a variety of genres to replace Lovebox. Lovebox ended its five year contract with the park and is taking place in Finsbury Park this summer instead.
“We are talking to a very large concert provider” Gunnersbury Estate’s Chief Executive David Bowler told The Chiswick Calendar. “We’re looking at a series of one day concert events, probably on a single stage, with artists across a broader range of musical genres.”
The Lovebox weekend festival, which took place twice in Gunnersbury Park, was considered an artistic triumph, with big name line-ups on several stages attracting huge crowds of festival goers.
Local residents were less impressed, as the crowds of young people relieved themselves in neighbouring gardens on their way home and left homeowners to collect up buckets of discarded nitrous oxide cannisters.
“The Lovebox audience were a hedonistic crowd” says David. Event organisers rate the people who attend their events with a ‘compliance’ scoring. The Lovebox crowds scored low. There were also some 40,000 of them, which made moving them through the surrounding residential area to get home difficult.
“We are looking at several events, one day concerts for a maximum of 20-25,000 people this time” said David, “and we will move them through more than one transport hub, not just Acton.”
Gunnersbury Estate has to apply for planning permission for the events and submit a major planning application to Hounslow Council.
“Hounslow treats applying to hold a one day gig the same as it does a developer applying to build a block of flats”, which David finds excessive.
“We are a not-for-profit [currently a Community Interest Company but becoming a charity], and we have to spend a lot of money, which is money that would otherwise have gone to the upkeep of the park.”
Other boroughs are more flexible, he says. Hounslow and Ealing are co-owners of the park but it is Hounslow which oversees planning applications.
Photograph of the day by Jennifer Griffiths – @jengriffiths49
Image above: Gunnersbury Park; photograph Jennifer Griffiths
More investment needed
Long term he is looking for the councils to invest more in the infrastructure of the park, to provide generators, foul water drainage and lighting so the park can compete competitively with other venues looking to attract event promoters. The only gates the park has wide enough to allow site traffic for building event staging is at the Lionel Rd / Popes Lane end of the park. Events are held in the south of the park so event organisers have to put down about 800 metres of track lay to protect the grass to get their vehicles across it.
“We need long term capital investment to reduce the cost to event organisers and make us more attractive as a venue, and to reduce disruption to residents. The pathways also need redoing. We need to raise millions of pounds to improve the infrastructure.”
Image above: Gunnersbury Park; photograph Jennifer Griffiths
From 1 April Gunnersbury Park will be home to Dino Kingdom, a display of life sized dinosaurs, which move and roar. Friday 1 April – Monday 18 April. In June it will see the return of an immersive cinema experience from the Secret Group. There is also a pitch and putt area in development.
The Chiswick Calendar CIC is a community resource. Please support us by buying us the equivalent of a monthly cup of coffee (or more, if you insist). Click here to support us.
We publish a weekly newsletter and update the website with local news and information daily. We are editorially independent.
https://chiswickcalendar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/2021-September-24-Jennifer-Griffiths-Gunnersbury-Park-in-September.jpg6671000Bridget Osbornehttps://chiswickcalendar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/TCC-white-on-white-1.pngBridget Osborne2022-03-22 08:39:572022-03-22 08:42:02Gunnersbury Park planning a series of one day concerts this summer
Image above: Karolina Adamkiewicz (centre) and Maggie Thorburn (right)
Two local volunteers are relaunching Friends of the Earth in Hounslow, in response to the ongoing climate crisis.
Maggie Thorburn and Karolina Adamkiewicz from Chiswick are relaunching the environmental group to address the wide range of environmental issues affecting residents of the borough as well as the larger community. The group is being relaunched in response to anxieties surrounding climate change, in the hopes of preventing a bleak future for future generations.
The relaunch is taking is taking place over Zoom from 7-8.30pm on Thursday (24 March). The group will be meeting bi-weekly from then onwards. Meetings will be online to start with, with physical meetings to be planned in near future. Friends of the Earth have been campaigning for climate action for 50 years.
Though the fledgling group has few concrete goals locally to start with, they hope establishing the Hounslow chapter will engage the local community to identify issues which matter to them most.
General issues include campaigning for well insulated homes in the borough and pushing for a reduction in the use of plastic among local business owners. The group also hope to pressure LB Hounslow to meet its net-zero targets by 2030 and to move away from investments in fossil fuel companies.
LB Hounslow invest in a ‘diverse range’ of shares to ensure sufficient funds are available to pay staff pensions. A small proportion of these are fossil fuel companies (less than 5%). The companies tend to have the best investment returns. Divestment, Karolina argued, sends a bigger message to fossil fuel companies to change than continuing to invest in them.
Image above: Karolina Adamkiewicz (2nd left) at a climate protest
Identifying local climate issues
Karolina told The Chiswick Calendar:
“We’re not coming to this relaunch on Thursday with lots of ideas in mind. What we’re going to do is set the scene, but it’s up to anyone who wants to join us to come with their ideas and together we can work on them. I don’t think it would work if you did a top-down thing, you need to work with other people and identify the issues that are important to them.”
On LB Hounslow’s investments in fossil fuels, she added:
“I think it would be great if Hounslow would divest its pension funds position in fossil fuels.”
“It’s money that’s being invested on behalf of Hounslow council employees, and if we want to make a transition and meet Hounslow council’s climate pledge which was made in 2019, rather than still investing in fossil fuels we need to be making a transition to renewable energy – and it’s not happening fast enough”
Maggie Thorburn said:
“I’ve been campaigning on environmental issues for many years, and now is the right time to relaunch Friends of the Earth in the borough of Hounslow. If you live in Chiswick, Isleworth, Feltham, Brentford or any one of the other borough districts and want to help, we would love you to join us. By working together we can make a real difference.”
The Chiswick Calendar CIC is a community resource. Please support us by buying us the equivalent of a monthly cup of coffee (or more, if you insist). Click here to support us.
We publish a weekly newsletter and update the website with local news and information daily. We are editorially independent.
https://chiswickcalendar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/hounslowfoe_crop.jpeg377374Matt Smithhttps://chiswickcalendar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/TCC-white-on-white-1.pngMatt Smith2022-03-21 22:10:182022-03-22 09:34:16Friends of the Earth relaunch in Hounslow
A total of 56 people have been charged over the Insulate Britain protests on the M25 in September 2021, the Metropolitan Police have said. The charges relate to demonstrations that took place at two locations across three dates in September 2021.
Thirteen people have been charged with two counts of causing a public nuisance at Junction 14 of the M25 on 13 September 2021 and at Junction 25 of the M25 on 15 September 2021. They are due to appear at Stratford Magistrates’ Court on Friday, 22 April.
A further 50 have been charged with causing a public nuisance at Junction 14 of the M25 on 27 September 2021. Some people have been charged as part of both investigations.
Insulate Britain is an environmental activist group, founded by six members of the global environmental movement Extinction Rebellion. Their methods slightly differ from that of Extinction Rebellion, but they share the same overall target: to reduce the rate of climate change.
One of their main goals is to pressure the Government into funding the insulation of all social housing by 2025, because low energy homes use considerably less energy and use renewable energy for heating and electricity.
The Chiswick Calendar CIC is a community resource. Please support us by buying us the equivalent of a monthly cup of coffee (or more, if you insist). Click here to support us.
We publish a weekly newsletter and update the website with local news and information daily. We are editorially independent.
Image above: the vandalised memorial in Bedford Park
The Bedford Park Society has announced that full funding has been secured to restore the damaged Grade II listed Bedford Park War Memorial outside St Michael and All Angels Church.
During 2021 the Memorial was vandalised, and bronze plaques recording the names of 44 of the servicemen from Bedford Park who died during the 1914-1918 World War were stolen.
Funding for the war memorial was originally raised by members of the Bedford Park Club, which was disbanded many years ago. As perhaps the closest current manifestation of this community group, the Society decided to take the lead in attempting to restore the Memorial.
Having received an anonymous donation towards the cost of the restoration, the society then worked to secure the balance of the funds. With the support of local Hounslow councillors, the society managed to secure a grant from the Hounslow Thriving Communities Fund, which ensured full funding for the war memorial plaques to be restored in 2022.
Bedford Park Society Chair, Helen Jameson said:
“We are very grateful to George Butlin for working with local specialist supplier Rivermeade to source a suitable replacement plaque using brass with bronze patination, which is visually ‘like for like’ but less likely to be stolen. Thanks are also due to Councillors [Patrick] Barr, [Theo] Dennison, [Gerald] MacGregor and [John] Todd for their enthusiastic support of the project.”
The work is expected to be completed in time for this year’s Armistice Day commemorations.
Stories of the lives of the individuals whose names appear on the various war memorials associated with St Michael and All Angels Church can be found here – a project carried out by St Michael’s, started in 2014.
The Chiswick Calendar CIC is a community resource. Please support us by buying us the equivalent of a monthly cup of coffee (or more, if you insist). Click here to support us.
We publish a weekly newsletter and update the website with local news and information daily. We are editorially independent.
https://chiswickcalendar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Memorial-1.jpg667855Matt Smithhttps://chiswickcalendar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/TCC-white-on-white-1.pngMatt Smith2022-03-21 21:58:242022-03-21 21:58:24Vandalised Bedford Park war memorial to be restored
We may request cookies to be set on your device. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website.
Click on the different category headings to find out more. You can also change some of your preferences. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer.
Essential Website Cookies
These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features.
Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refusing them will have impact how our site functions. You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site.
We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that. You are free to opt out any time or opt in for other cookies to get a better experience. If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain.
We provide you with a list of stored cookies on your computer in our domain so you can check what we stored. Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. You can check these in your browser security settings.
Other external services
We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. Changes will take effect once you reload the page.
Google Webfont Settings:
Google Map Settings:
Google reCaptcha Settings:
Vimeo and Youtube video embeds:
Privacy Policy
You can read about our cookies and privacy settings in detail on our Privacy Policy Page.
Support The Chiswick Calendar
Support The Chiswick Calendar
The poorest are the worst affected by the energy price hike not only because of their ability to pay, but because of the way in which they pay for gas and electricity. It is cheaper to pay for it by direct debit than it is by pre-payment meters.
High cost of rent
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said:
Support The Chiswick Calendar
Apple Podcasts
Spotify
Google Podcasts
Stitcher
iHeartRadio
TuneIn
Overcast
PocketCasts
Castro
CastBox
Podchaser
Podcast Addict
Deezer
Listen Notes
RSS
Last Thursday (17 March) the Grove Park Group and Strand on the Green Association co-hosted a public meeting to discuss the traffic changes in what the council call South Chiswick, and most locals call Grove Park. 
