My Quest to Preserve Brentford's Equivalent of the Elgin Marbles
Brentford West councillor Guy Lambert reports back
Cllr Guy Lambert
May 17, 2024
Well, if you were paying attention, I resigned from the cabinet. I will say no more – I published a resignation letter here – but it will be a significant change in my life! Not really got here yet as the new cabinet is not yet announced, but I have been taking my leave of officers and partner organisations, which of course is a bit bittersweet.
Back to last Friday. Cllr John Todd had alerted me to a number of industrial ‘flytips’ on Dukes Meadow. I updated on that last week but on Friday I was up there with Hounslow Highways and Katherine Dunne. Hounslow Highways came equipped with a big grabber truck but even with something like that it is not the work of a moment to pick all this muck up. Here’s a sample from one of 3 tips, after a lot of it was already in the truck. If you recognise the carpet (or anything else) let us know. Our enforcement team have a lead for at least one of the tips but whether they will be able to catch anybody is another matter.
One of the ones ‘we’ cleared was replenished by the weekend. I made an attempt to be a detective and I did find one bit of evidence. The people from HH chased after me with a pair of gloves to ensure I didn’t pick up a lurgy.
In the evening I went to a celebration of councillor Jagdish Sharma. This was at the Indian Gymkhana. This is a lovely enclave hidden in Osterley and it has a remarkable story.
Jagdish has a remarkable story of his own, having done no less than 50 years as a councillor in Hounslow, which is astonishing. For a time he was leader of the council and has a MBE to prove how accomplished he is.
We all recorded a short video to mark the occasion. I pointed out he had outdone a lot of Prime ministers: Wilson, Callaghan, Thatcher, Major, Blair. Brown. And then a rush into the world of nightmare: Cameron, May, Johnson, Truss, Sunak. Who’s next? Mordaunt, Braverman, Farage, Galloway? Very probably Starmer which will be a great relief to nearly everybody.
On Saturday I finally managed to get into West Middlesex, so they could look inside my head and see if there is anything there. This is to do with my ears, ostensibly, but who really knows? The ENT team wouldn’t tell my GP when I might be seen and they all told me to use PALS as you get more info as a patient than a mere doctor is told. Sure enough, this ruse worked, though of course they won’t tell me if they found anything so I currently don’t know if I have either a brain or a skeleton. I know have a session booked with GP next week, so he may know something – time will tell.
In the evening we had a celebratory drink in the Six Bells – much nicer these days and my health food of beef baguette with chips was generous and good quality. A good bunch of councillors and local supporters turned out and it was a lovely evening.
Sunday was our collective surgery. Emma’s first and it reminds me we need a new picture as I don’t know how to photoshop a pic of Emma in Lara’s place. Oh, and Saturday was also my birthday and I would advise any politician not to have a birthday in May. It is very difficult to celebrate a birthday due to elections and sometimes the stuff that follows elections.
I sneaked out for a bit to talk to some EU campaigners who were having a rather thinly supported event (they thought it was the day of the market) and I gave them some support and invited a friend of mine who is more fanatical about the EU to come along. I remain (or remoan) of the opinion that leaving the EU was an act of self harm by the nation, largely based on fibs told by shysters like Boris Johnson. We are where we are and we won’t be rejoining no time soon, but with a proper government we may begin to limiting further damage to our reputation and economy.
I also noticed the ancient monument which lives outside the Digital Dock. I have urged the ward councillors to get it listed as it’s a thing of clear distinction, but I’m told we might have been beaten to it by the Louvre. I suppose it’s Brentford’s answer to the Elgin Marbles. Or maybe I’ve lost mine. My photo app says it’s a red box with a black bag over it. By the same theory the Elgin Marbles are a bit of stone with some graffiti on it.
We were back to hideous noise (and sometimes scary vibration) this week in Ferry Quays, and I thought you might want a view of what replacing a river wall looks like.
Don’t ask me about the technicalities, but it involves a very big hammer on a very tall crane. And there’s now a big hole where once there was a nice little garden with a tree in it. I hope I get my path back soon, widened and improved as they promised in Planning!
On Monday I had accepted an invite by the franchisee of McDonalds to join them on a litter hunt and pick. As I have remarked before when I used to do regularish litter picks in Brentford it is a bit frustrating, because in truth there really isn’t much litter about in Brentford. There must have been 20 or 30 people from McDonalds franchisees on duty - the family run three of them in W London – and we did all the roads basically from the High Street up to the railway. Occupational hazard of being a councillor is that you are always meeting people you know (or worse when they know you but you’ve forgotten them!) so progress is slow. Anyway, a good chat with a local business, which I do too rarely.
On Tuesday it was the Speak Out AGM at the Steam Museum. I went last year and I really enjoyed it, and I was back this year. The people who use Speak Out have learning difficulties and/or autism and sometimes physical disabilities, but it’s very warming to see them. They have heaps of fun and you find a smile crossing my face which lasts me all day. The people who work with them are lovely too. It’s a privilege to attend.
After that I had the other end of being a councillor. A family with nowhere fit to live. They are housed, after a fashion, by a landlord who claims to be a Housing Association, though they are under immediate threat of being evicted. They are terrified of ending up on the street. I try to assure them we won’t let that happen but there are unpleasant landlords harassing them and they don’t understand the system (nor do I, really, because it is deliberately difficult because there are few real options for them). Last time I visited I reported damp (you can see it coming through the ceiling) rat droppings in the filthy ’kitchen’ (they use a single hotplate in their room instead) a broken toilet (which now has the door closed by the landlord and a sign saying it shouldn’t be used). It’s really horrible. We taxpayers are paying the landlord for this disgusting slum, whilst the father works as a teaching assistant to support his wife and 3 year old child. Ugh.
On Wednesday I had a telephone update from Network Rail, who have some money from somewhere to improve the externals of Brentford (and Isleworth) station. Early days and they will be consulting real people (ie more beyond councillors) soon and we will have more soon.
I also fitted in a visit to The Mall. Not the one where the King lives but the small estate in Boston Manor Road, I was delighted to see that one of the residents has created a small garden in the lawn area in front (supported apparently by Morrisons – thanks to both!)
Not Kew (well, not yet) but a real improvement – need much more of this. Gorgeous flowers too, by the same person, in the otherwise unappealing car park.
Also been a bit more healthy, with a fitting for a shoe which will help my plantar fasciitis (allegedly) from a specialist in Richmond, plus my regular fracture clinic at Charing Cross for my various shoulder woes.
Between these we had the local Labour branch meeting at the free Church, followed by a bit of balm for the soul distributed by the Beehive, not helped at all by the TV there showing Man Utd winning.
That’s all folks. Tomorrow we have part 2 of the council Labour AGM when we will find out what’s happening to the cabinet and other roles around the council political team.
Councillor Guy Lambert
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