Government agency 'acting like a loan shark'

I reported a couple of weeks ago on the Loan Charge, which has left thousands of people with unexpected tax debts of hundreds of thousands of pounds and has caused stress and anxiety to the point of causing marital breakups and even suicides.

There are at least 220 people in Brentford & Isleworth constituency who are affected by the Loan Charge, and I have been talking to some of them in Chiswick about the tactics used by Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs to recoup the money.

This government agency is “acting like a loan shark” they say, employing ruthless tactics which they describe as “bullying”, adding quite deliberately to their anxiety over their debts, in a concentrated effort to make them pay up.

Read my report, based on personal testimonies and published dossiers of evidence which back them up, on The Chiswick Calendar website. The evidence is quite shocking.
 

Debt Counselling 

The stress and anxiety of people who find themselves in debt is something with which Michele Rooney is very familiar.

She runs a debt counselling service based at St Nicholas' Church in Chiswick, providing a buffer between debtor and creditors, prioritising debt, making payment arrangements with them and offering emotional and practical support.

Read more about the service on The Chiswick Calendar website.
 

20% off tickets to Lightopia

'Lightopia' opened in the grounds of Chiswick House last week and will continue throughout February.

Organisers Outreach Creative are offering holders of a Chiswick Calendar Club Card 20% off the ticket price. Just enter the promotional code CHISWICK20 when you book online and take your Club Card with you when you pick up your tickets. 

The show has received mixed reviews so far. Some people think the series of illuminated sculptures all around the gardens are tacky. Others are won over by the magical wonderland they create after dark.  

This year’s display is much more interactive than previous shows. Visitors can control some of the extraordinary sculptures using touch pads and drums.

James Willcocks went to see it for The Chiswick Calendar. Have a look at his gallery of images on The Chiswick Calendar website and make up your own mind.
 

Meet the owner of Chiswick Auctions

I went to the most peculiar auction last week. Called ‘From the Curious to the Extraordinary’, it featured objects such as a life-sized fibreglass elephant head, a (real) egg from a Madagascan Elephant Bird and the fake tiger skin Leigh Osborne is leaning on in the picture above.

Chiswick Auctions had never done a weird and wonderful collection before. They're normally more predictable: Oriental rugs, pictures, furniture, jewellery, designer handbags, that sort of thing.

It was a bit of a risk, but one that paid off. They flogged two pairs of fossilised antlers while I was there for £40,000.

Leigh Osborne loves taking risks. He took over as the sole owner of Chiswick Auctions last year and is making a huge success of it. But then again, that's only to be expected, as he's made a huge success of every business he's turned his hand to.

He's a fascinating guy, with a career almost diverse as his catalogue of the curious and the extraordinary. Read my interview with him on The Chiswick Calendar website.
 

Dom Pipkin’s “Smokin’ Boogie, Bad Boys, Bourbon & The Big Easy

Thursday 6 February

Jazz at George IV is back on Thursday 6 February with the renowned pianist and raconteur Dom Pipkin.

Dom brings his highly successful West End show, paying homage to the music of New Orleans, with songs from Jelly Roll Morton, Professor Longhair, James Booker and Fats Domino to the Boston Room at George IV for the first Chiswick Calendar Jazz Club night of the decade.

Dom has recorded and toured with Paul Weller, Ray Davies and Laura Mvula amongst others. “When Dom plays the piano, magic happens ……” Paloma Faith.

Gig starts 7.30pm (Doors open 7.00pm)
George IV, 185 Chiswick High Rd. 
Tickets: £10 in advance from Eventbrite. £12 on the door. £8.00 Club Card holders. 
 

Why small children need gym classes

Marlene Welburn runs The Little Gym on Hartington Rd. She reckons even quite small children need gym classes.

In the immortal words of Mandy Rice-Davies, she would say that wouldn't she? After all she sells gym classes. 

Surely small children get all the exercise they need naturally, because they love to run around and climb and play? 

Well that apparently is where you'd be wrong. While that was the case when we were young, she told me, now there is a huge problem with young children not getting enough exercise because they are 'containerised'.

This concept is new to me, though when she explained, it made sense. Small children are taken from cot to high chair, from high chair to playpen so they're safe while their parent / carer does chores, from playpen to buggy or car seat, and what carer wouldn't prefer to sit in a nice warm cafe chatting with their mates over a decaff soya latte rather than freezing their backside on a metal bench in a windswept playground?

I began to see her point. Though frankly, she had me at 'when we were young', sweetly bracketing herself and I in the same century.

Read my interview with Marlene Welburn, director of The Little Gym, Chiswick on The Chiswick Calendar website.
 

Man in the Middle 

What to do with the elderly parent you know in your heart of hearts can no longer cope living alone? That is a dilemma for many people.

Our regular column 'The Man in the Middle' is the musings of a middle aged man on living with his family and aged mother. If you would like to read the columns in order from the beginning, you can read Episode One: The Letter, here. 

No. 20 Musical Mothers

This week Mother takes inspiration from Margaret Mackie, the pensioner, whose version of My Way has given the likes of Ed Sheeran and Stormzy a run for their money.
 

Three charities receive £5,000 each from the Chiswick Book Festival and Cookbook Festival

Three local charities have received £5,000 each from the Chiswick Book Festival and Cookbook Festival, following record ticket sales at the festivals last autumn.

Fundraisers from InterAct Stroke Support, Doorstep Library Network and the Felix Project were presented with cheques on Monday by the director of the Chiswick Book Festival, Torin Douglas, and two of the Cookbook Festival team, Jo Pratt and Jules Kane.
 

Choose the next image for the W4th Plinth

The W4th Plinth art space was launched by Abundance London in September 2019, taking its name from the Trafalgar Square 4th plinth of rotating artworks.

Sir Peter Blake's collage of the Chiswick Empire music hall theatre has occupied the space on the wall of the railway at Turnham Green Terrace thus far. Now it's time for the next piece of art to take its place. 

A panel led by Sir Peter Blake has selected a shortlist of four, and it is now down to you to choose its successor. 

See the four choices and how to vote on The Chiswick Calendar website. You have until the end of February to vote.
 

The River’s Archaeological Tale - tonight

Explore the history and archaeology of the River Thames without having to get your feet wet.

From the prehistoric to the present day, the Thames has been at the heart of London’s story and twice a day, at low tide, that rich heritage is revealed.

The Thames Discovery Programme is a community archaeology project dedicated to monitoring and recording the incredible archaeology of the foreshore along the tidal Thames.

Senior Community Archaeologist Josh Frost will talk about some of their finds on Tuesday 28 January, at Chiswick Pier from 7.30pm,

Chiswick Pier Trust, The Pier House, Corney Reach Way, W4 2UG. £5 on the door.
 

Jazz at George IV Spring Line-up

We have a great line-up for you at George IV this spring.

Thursday 6 February - Dom Pipkin’s “Smokin’ Boogie, Bad Boys, Bourbon & The Big Easy
An homage to the music of New Orleans.

Buy Tickets

Thursday 5 March - Blues Engineers
Singer and guitarist John 0’Reilly and the multi-talented saxophonist, flautist and harmonica player Nick Payne play Country and Urban blues.

Buy Tickets

Thursday 19 March - With Love From Ella
In addition to our monthly Jazz at George IV sessions, for this special cabaret night Helen Theophanous sings the songs of Ella Fitzgerald, backed by top quartet of piano, saxophone, double bass and drums.

Buy Tickets

Thursday 2 April - Jazz Mondays
Chiswick based 13 strong band famous for their eight strong ‘wall of saxes’. Their eclectic repertoire ranges across Jazz to Soul, Ska and Funk, from Dizzy Gillespie to Amy Winehouse.

Buy Tickets
 

Live Music in Chiswick

There's a lot of live music happening in Chiswick these days. 

The Stable pizza restaurant by Kew Bridge has an open mic night this evening (Tuesday 28 January). They are members of The Chiswick Calendar's Club Card scheme, offering 25% off takeaway pizzas.

There are Latin dance classes in the basement of the Gunnersbury Pub on Tuesday nights.

Wednesday nights are Open Mic nights at George IV, where your Club Card will get you 20% off food and drink at any time. 

There's also live music at the Italian Job, on Wednesdays and Sundays from 6.00 - 10.00pm. They too offer a fantastic 20% off all food and drink, on production of the Club Card.

Friday and Saturday night's there's always live music at Connelly's Irish Bar and at George IV.

DJs at George Iv and the Old Packhorse on Saturday nights.

Headliners this weekend

There's a great line-up at Headliners this weekend, in the Boston Room of George IV pub.

Hal Cruttenden, Shappi Khorsandi, Paul Thorne +MC

Starts at 9pm on Friday and Saturday.

Headliners has the same line-up on the Friday and Saturday, and offer Club Card holders the fantastic discount of £6.00 on Fridays.

That, together with the 20% off food and drink offered by the pub, makes for a great, and cheap night out.

See: Headliners Comedy Club, Club Card Offer

2020 At a Glance

Planning an event in Chiswick this year? Don't want to clash with a big event such as the Chiswick Book festival or the Chiswick House Dog Show?

Find out the dates of the big events which happen in Chiswick each year in our 2020 At a Glance guide.